Elementary school principal is placed on leave after tweeting pictures of guns to Parkland School shooting survivor David Hogg with the hashtag '#Merica' (5 Pics)
A Missouri elementary school principal has been suspended after he tweeted a photo of guns to Parkland shooting survivor David Hogg, prompting an investigation.
On Tuesday, Compass Elementary School Principal Dr. Chad Searcey replied to a video uploaded by Hogg on Twitter, in which he encouraged Congress to comprehensively fund gun violence research.
‘Gun violence is the second leading cause of death for the young people in the United States, yet basically gets no research funding from the federal government at all whatsoever,’ Hogg said in the video. ‘We have a chance to fund it currently in this Congress with this Senate and give $50 million to the CDC and NIH.’
In response, Searcey tweeted a collage of pictures, showing both him and his family posing and appearing to shoot gun, accompanied by the hashtag ‘#Merica’.
Searcy later deleted the tweet following a backlash and even posted an apology to Hogg, but the gun activist had already retweeted the picture calling out the principal, telling him ‘what’s more cool’ than guns.
‘Cool guns, you know what’s more cool?,’ Hogg rhetorically asked. ‘Mom's and dads getting to see their kids graduate high school alive; Kids not having to step over bloodstained sidewalks on their way to school; Parents not coming home to find their child with a self inflicted gun shot wound.’
As reported by FOX4, Platte County R-3 School District learned of Searcey’s tweet on Wednesday and immediately placed him on paid administrative leave, pending the results of an internal investigation.
Searcy later deleted the tweet following a backlash and even posted an apology to Hogg, but the gun activist had already retweeted the picture calling out the principal, telling him ‘what’s more cool’ than guns
‘Posts from employee personal social media accounts do not reflect the views or opinions of the Platte County R-3 School District,’ a statement from the district read.
‘We understand why the public response has been strong with regard to student safety in our nation’s schools. We intend to address the situation immediately.’
Hogg survived the Parkland massacre which saw 17 of his fellow students and teachers at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida shot and killed by gunman Nikolas Cruz.
Since then Hogg, along with classmates like Emma González and Cameron Kasky, helped to launch the March for Our Lives movement.
Searcey deleted his Twitter account on Wednesday afternoon. According to their website, he has worked with the school district for 14 years.
Parents offered a mixed reaction to the principal’s conduct and questioned whether he should be allowed to return to the school, citing his ‘insensitivity’.
‘I think everyone makes mistakes,’ Rachel Casaos told FOX4. ‘Some things are unfortunate, but he’s an amazing principal who’s very compassionate and kind. I think he should be forgiven.’
Melanie Lillard said she was conflicted as to what should happen next: ‘I mean, he has the right to have guns and go shoot them with his family. But to post something like that on a serious subject like that is very insensitive,’ she told the station.
‘I don’t know if he should come back or not.'
