Anything "unnatural" is to be mentioned to a counselor or administrator. As educators, we are deemed the mandated reporter. If you have information about something, yet you refuse to disclose it to the proper person(s), you can be held responsible.

I try not to get too much information. Nor, do I seek out info from students.

I's sorry this young man lost his life. And I don't know what other alternatives could have been applied to save his life and the others. I am thinking maybe a child psychologist and a negotiotator(sp) could have been called in to help him verbalize his feelings.
I dont know what happened. I barely read the story. But let me tell you this when the SWAT team is called in,they not there to pussyfoot around, you will get killed.They are not their to save the person's life that is threatening to kill people,their job is to neutralize the situation (kill the person).
I remember an unfortunate incident where my neighbor was having a nervous breakdown and threatened to kill himself.His stupid doctor called in the SWAT team. The only thing that kept him alive was my caring neighbors who talked to him in a calm matter and he came out quietly.
I am figuring they did not want another Columbine on their hands.

Just my 2 cents

Exactly. With the way people are going crazy, we have to take extra precautions. I don't disagree with what the officers/SWAT team did. If someone has a school under siege and is holding another student hostage with what is believed to be a real gun, action must be taken.

I take all threats of suicide seriously you never know! I've had the misfortune of directing two such threats as a classroom teacher on the ELEMENTARY level to the proper authorities. One of which said that they were glad that I did so. You never know!- We as Teachers who work in school systems must become more attune to our students so that further situations such as this will not occur.