From the Premier Safe & Loved Course:
Certified Safe & Loved Practitioners

When tragedy happens, we often search for one answer.

One mistake. One person. One failure we can point to and say, There. That is why this happened. 

That explanation is comforting but it’s usually wrong. 

The truth is that these events are more often the result of a string of catastrophes—multiple failures lining up in sequence, each one making the next possible. 

Consider Uvalde, Texas (Robb Elementary School) shooting. 

Catastrophic events are often not caused by one dramatic mistake but a chain reaction of smaller mistakes, delays, inaction, blind spots, and ignored problems that combine at the worst possible moment.

When these failures stack on top of each other, tragedy gains momentum and options disappear fast. 

It’s why we must address problems early.
We never wait to act on information about a weapon, threats, or bullying.
We do not allow small warning signs to spiral into larger dangers.
We fix small failures before they gain momentum.

Loving relationships, deep trust in each other, and a strong culture of connection must always be a priority because these create layers of help and opportunities for intervention. 

The more layers we build, the more roadblocks violence must overcome. 

That is how disasters are prevented in aviation, medicine, and engineering. 

It is also how we prevent school shootings. 

Violence depends on a string of catastrophes.
Great school safety is breaking that string as early as possible so it won’t become a tragedy.