A Taiwanese high school student’s threat to ‘shoot up’ a Pennsylvania school exposes issues surrounding responsibility for his care in the U.S. and Taiwan.
The News Lens
Date: 2018/03/31
By: Matthew Lubin
Photo Credit：6abc Action News螢幕截圖
Taiwanese national Sun An-tso (孫安佐) was arrested in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, on March 27 after he reportedly told a classmate, “Don’t come to school on May 1, because I’m going to shoot up the school.” The 18-year-old’s defense attorney and mother have been quick to call the threat a “joke.” Calling this a joke shows willful ignorance of the situation and the current climate in the U.S.
If Sun’s threat was a joke, why did he have ammunition in his possession? Why was he so interested in military-style gear? If not for the other student being alarmed by the “joke,” particularly after Sun asked about buying a gun, the Philadelphia suburb may have had a more serious problem to deal with.
Obviously, there’s more to this than just Sun’s poor attempt at humor. The situation also reveals more glaring holes in current gun laws in the U.S. that allowed this teenager to purchase ammunition and gear without anyone alerting authorities. Unfortunately, each of the items found during the police search, which included a military-style ballistic vest, a crossbow with scope and light, 20 rounds of 9mm ammunition, a military ski mask, an ammunition clip loader, a garrote and other items, are not illegal on their own, but, as Police Superintendent Michael Chitwood stated, “[W]hen you add it all up, it shows a pattern of potential horrific, horrible acts that could be committed.”
It also brings into question the fact that the host family Sun was living with took no notice of his activities. Even police were disturbed that he was able to obtain all the items he had without anyone noticing, with Chitwood saying, “Something’s wrong somewhere. Someone’s not watching.” [FULL STORY]
