Local legislators react to Cape graduation shooting

In the wake of the May 19 shooting during Cape Girardeau Central High School's graduation, local legislators weighed in on the incident.

District 27 Sen. Holly Thompson Rehder, and state Reps. Barry Hovis and John Voss expressed their sympathies to the school district's faculty, staff, students and parents after Cape Central's graduation was cut short due to an altercation near a concession stand that resulted in a gunshot being fired with two people sustaining wounds.

"The incident at the Cape Central graduation ceremony was so unfortunate," Voss said. "In what should have been a day of celebration, the students, families and school leaders have been denied the joy that comes from reflecting on the success of hard work.  I'm grateful for all the officers who were able to handle the situation with professionalism and speed."

Hovis — who previously worked as a school resource officer (SRO) with the Cape Girardeau Public School District from 1997-2000 and 2001-2004 — repeated questions many have asked in the fallout from the event, including whether there should have been metal detectors or other preventive measures taken beforehand. In hindsight, Hovis said he thought “everybody was doing everything that they thought was necessary at the time,” but that the district would likely “want to review” its security measures. He ultimately places the blame on the perpetrator.

“Let's be upfront about it — the person that did this is responsible for it. No doubt about it.” Hovis said. “That is the No. 1 root of the problem right there, the people that make these choices.”

Rehder reflected on her childhood and growing up in a violent household, “Some fight to get out of that life, while some turn to it,” and called for more access to mental health care in schools.

“We need a behavioral health specialist in each of our schools,” Rehder said. “Someone that is trained to notice the signs of a child in crisis and get them the help that they need before they fall into what their education at home is teaching them. … We also need to increase our partnership options for mental health help between our schools and communities.”

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data shows Missouri had 24.2 gun-related deaths per 100,000 people — 1,489 deaths total — in 2022. While gun violence in the state continues to be an issue, Rehder said the problem isn't firearm laws.

“We do not need to make any changes to our gun laws. Guns are not the problem. The person breaking the law is the problem,” Rehder said. “We need increased mental health options and prosecution for those that break the law. Right now, our state is in a critical state for the number of mental health professionals that we have. Unless you are in a crisis, in some parts of our state, appointments are having to be made two months out. We need to fix that.”

At the legislative level, schools in Missouri can receive grant funding through the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to support “physical safety improvements".

Gov. Mike Parson signed a bill in 2022 for fiscal year 2023 that appropriated $20 million to the School Safety Grants Program, which supports physical safety improvements at local education agencies (LEA) across the state. In 2023, Parson signed another bill that increased the funding to $50 million and also allowed nonpublic schools (NPS) to receive funds.

According to DESE, the program is “a competitive grant which aims to support Missouri’s LEAs and NPSs with valuable opportunities to improve their safety measures through physical safety upgrades.” CGPS was awarded $60,500 in security grant funding for FY 2024 but didn’t receive any for FY 2023.

Voss also pointed to Senate Bill 754, passed by the General Assembly during this year’s legislative session, which, if signed by Parson, will “increase penalties for armed criminal action” and “modify the certification procedures for when a juvenile may be treated as an adult, including a review of all cases involving a deadly weapon.”

“Both of these are important steps to address the violence that so many of us want to see stop, especially when our youth are involved,” Voss said. “Repeat, violent criminals need to be held to fully account for their behavior. I'm optimistic that Gov. Parson will sign SB 754 into law. I look forward to continue working with our area law enforcement agencies to reduce crime and restore peace to our great state.”