Gov. Phil Scott, who has long opposed any new restrictions on gun ownership, shifted his position Friday following the arrest of a young man who allegedly intended to commit mass murder at a Rutland County school.
Eighteen-year-old Jack Sawyer of Poultney was arrested Thursday and, in an interview with police, outlined a detailed plan for shooting students — “as many as I can get,” according to the arrest affidavit submitted in court — at Fair Haven Union High School. It seems clear from reading the affidavit that Sawyer would likely have carried out his plan, if not for private individuals alerting authorities on two separate occasions.
Scott appeared deeply shaken by this very close call as he addressed reporters Friday afternoon in his Montpelier office. “If we are at a point when we put our kids on a bus and send them to school without being able to guarantee their safety, who are we?” he asked.
“Just yesterday, I did an interview noting that we are the safest state in the nation,” he continued, referring to remarks he made to Seven Days’ Taylor Dobbs. “But the reality of how close we came to a devastating tragedy underscores the threat of violence that faces the entire country.
“As a result, I’ve been asking myself, ‘Are we doing everything we can to protect our kids?'” Scott said. His change in heart, he added, means opening the discussion to such issues as mental health, school safety, gun safety and, potentially at least, some form of gun control legislation.
Scott would not identify any specific actions or bills he might now support. In response to questions, he said, “Everything should be on the table at this point.” He indicated that bills currently being considered by the legislature — including one that would mandate criminal background checks for all gun purchasers — would be “a starting point for us to at least have a conversation.”
And he admitted that his mind had been changed by Fair Haven’s close call. “With the events in Florida being so far away, and feeling as though we were immune to this type of threat,” he said, “but reading the affidavit and seeing how close we came to disaster, led me to believe that I have an obligation to protect our citizens.”
While a simple willingness to open a conversation about gun issues may seem an underwhelming response to a near-tragedy, it represents a definite change for Scott. “I need to be open-minded, objective and at least consider anything that will protect our kids,” he said.
Putting words into action will come later, but it was clear that the Fair Haven incident affected Scott as a leader and as a human being in a way that goes beyond the usual “thoughts and prayers” rhetoric.
The police affidavit, written by Detective Sergeant Todd Wilkins of the Vermont State Police, is a chilling document, showing how very close Vermont came to having its very own Columbine, Sandy Hook or Parkland.
The sequence of events started on Tuesday, when a parent of one of Sawyer’s friends reported to Fair Haven police that Sawyer was behaving strangely, had alluded to earlier threats against the high school and had just bought a shotgun and four boxes of ammunition.
Police learned that Sawyer had been in a residential treatment facility in Maine for more than a year to help him cope with anxiety and depression. His father, David Sawyer, told police that Jack had recently checked himself out of the facility and returned to Vermont — and had stopped taking psychiatric medication.
On Wednesday, three officers, including Fair Haven Police Chief William Humphries, interviewed Jack Sawyer, who admitted to making threats against the school in the past but said he had bought the gun for target shooting. According to the affidavit, “Chief Humphries did not ask Sawyer about any plans to commit a violent act.” Police concluded there was no evidence to continue investigating.
On Thursday, Humphries was contacted by the Dutchess County, N.Y., sheriff’s department, which said that a young woman who lived in the area had received disturbing social media messages from Sawyer. One message said, in part, “Just a few days ago I was plotting on shooting up my old high school so it’s not like I really wanted a future anyways.” In a message sent on Wednesday, in the wake of the Florida incident, Sawyer wrote, “That’s fantastic. 100% support it.”
Sawyer was then taken into custody by the Vermont State Police. According to Wilkins’ affidavit, Sawyer told police that he had been inspired to commit a mass school shooting by reading a book about the 1999 Columbine incident, in which 13 people were killed and another 21 wounded. He said he had bought the shotgun for use in his plan, and had selected ammunition that would “cause greater casualties and injuries,” Wilkins reported.
Sawyer also recounted details of his plan, according to Wilkins, including his thoughts on inflicting maximum casualties. In a search of Sawyer’s car, police found the shotgun and a diary entitled “Journal of an Active Shooter.”
It’s clear from reading the affidavit that Sawyer would not have been stopped without the intervention of not one, but two private individuals who independently reported their concerns to police. At the press conference, Scott and other officials repeatedly urged Vermonters, “If you see something, say something.”
Sawyer was arraigned Friday in Rutland County Superior Court on charges of attempted aggravated murder, attempted first-degree murder and attempted aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. He is being held without bail. Conviction on the first charge could mean a life sentence without the possibility of parole.
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Thank you for realising this error Governor Scott. Second amendment will not change so we can all carry guns, many of us should not however in my opinion. We really should look into Australia ways of how they handled this same dilemma. Find solutions one of which I’ve heard in Australia is everyone has the right to a gun, but they do it like a motor vehicle where you are certified but you have to ask why you want one – target shooting, hunting all the of the traditions in tact and you pass the safety course and of course mental course and your rights are granted. Would this really hurt gun owners – no, inconvenience probably some but this might be the way to go. Please govern as a Vermonter and not a Republican – thank you.
The direction that would be most effective would be to introduce gun courses in schools, training in gun laws, gun safety, and good habits of gun ownership. That is what schools are for, and drivers ed classes do just that.
Also, placing armed guards at schools, (perhaps the gun safety instructor), and arming faculty would be fine as well. The liberal left only wants to limit gun ownership so are not helpful at all in reducing the threat if violence.
Schools should be about teach children what is important to them for success within a just society.
Snow Creek- Did you read the article? “Eighteen-year-old Jack Sawyer of Poultney was arrested Thursday and, in an interview with police, outlined a detailed plan for shooting students “as many as I can get,” according to the arrest affidavit submitted in court” These were not just thoughts, he admitted to this being his actual plan.
Evidently, the slaughter of schoolchildren is not too high a price to pay for gun rights. There is a special place in Hell for the NRA and all of their supporters. The mental gymnastics gun rights supporters are doing to avoid the blood on their hands is criminal. Guns aren’t the problem; Gun rights supporters are. The Second Ammendment must be amended.
What specific new laws from the gun control lobby’s usual grab bag could have done any good here? He bought his shotgun from Dick’s Sporting Goods which means he passed an NICS background check and shotguns are low capacity “sporting” weapons that wouldn’t be effected by magazine restrictions or assault weapon bans.
Perhaps we need to look at the way information about psychiatric institutionalization is being reported. That should be disqualifying, but it doesn’t seem to be getting to the FBI, who runs our background check system. There was another recent shooter that should have been disqualified from buying guns but the Air Force failed to report the necessary information to the FBI. The Virginia Tech shooter was another such case.
It appears to me that the gun control debate has gotten so partisan and dominated by interest groups that no one is willing to question the functionality of proposed legislation. Doing something that’s functionally useless is worse than doing nothing because it will lull us into a false sense of security.
Ok, this sounds easy enough. The Sawyer kid was in a psychiatric facility, the one in Florida probably was also, along with most of the others. Both, if not all, on prescription psychotic medications etc etc.
I vote anyone being released from a psychiatric facility or that has been on prescription meds or has been convicted of, not just charged with, convicted of, a felony crime of any violent nature, has the back of their hands tatoo’d “NO GUNS” before they can leave. Anyone selling guns can readily check their hands before a sale and refuse anyone with the identifier. They can’t buy guns, either from a FFL dealer or private sellers that don’t have the resources to run background checks. I don’t suffer deprivation of rights being required to get government approval before I’m allowed buy my guns, which would be in direct violation of the Vermont and US constitutions, posing a hazard of charges of fraud or even treason under the commission of the oath of office for any official involved in passing such a law that required that of me, and we’re all good to go. Wow, I feel safer already.
While I am glad that Phil Scott is at least appearing to be serious about gun violence, I find his claim of believing that Vermont is somehow “immune” to that violence either very nave or just plain opportunistic ignorance. No state, city, neighborhood or any other area of our country is “immune” from the horror of gun violence.
Phil, you said the words. For us to believe you, you had better take action and take it very soon. If you don’t, those words will be little more than empty rhetoric and we have heard more than enough rhetoric from you and others who love to posture rather than follow through.
I am trying to figure out who exactly he attempted to murder. No mention of the victim! Did I miss something!?
Scott said: “but reading the affidavit and seeing how close we came to disaster, led me to believe that I have an obligation to protect our citizens.”
Dear Governor Scott, I am glad you finally realize you have an obligation to protect Vermont citizens. It’s too bad it took you a year of governing to figure that one out. I truly hope it sticks though.
The young mans journal never rose to any threat larger than Steven Kings ‘Carrie’
Are thoughts now criminalized?
Its disturbing to me how many politicians and law enforcement showed up to that puff news conference where they are attempted to advance their careers by making a mountain out of a molehill during a politically sensitive time.
lets not ruin a life over teenage angst
we have given Josiah Leach endless opportunities for a crime that actually rose to the level of verbalized threats that targeted specific people. Yet our public officials want to throw the book at this young man- I wonder what the difference is