The firing of a handgun by an eighth-grader at Highlands Intermediate School could have been tragic, but its mild ending nevertheless should prompt an examination of protocol in public school policies. The absence of an emergency notification system to contact parents concerned some, and that omission could result in frightening consequences.

The 14-year-old son of Jason Takayesu was arrested Monday at the Pearl City campus after firing a .45-caliber Glock semiautomatic pistol on school grounds at about 6:30 a.m., an hour and a half before the start of school. Police said the boy, in showing the gun to friends, pointed it at one of them, who pushed the firearm away.

The gun went off, and a bullet went through a friend’s jacket but did not hit him. The bullet struck a rock wall, and fragments of the wall hit another friend’s right hand and thigh; fortunately, the wounds were minor. The alleged shooter panicked and discarded the gun nearby, where school officials recovered it and called police to the crime scene.

Sheldon Oshio, superintendent of the Leeward Oahu complex area, said, "Highlands took appropriate action based on their action plans with the guidelines of our Department of Education to ensure the safety and well-being of all the students here on campus."

While school officials did seem to have reacted well regarding safety at the site, several parents were justifiably concerned about the lack of notification and information.

The parent of a seventh-grade student wondered why he learned of the incident from a reporter as he waited to pick up his son. Another parent wondered why parents were not alerted through text messages, emails or the school’s website.

The answer, according to school officials, is that no such system exists in the public school system. The University of Hawaii has an "alert emergency notification" system, with automated options that include email and text messages via computer and text messages sent to mobile phones. It is used to warn faculty, staff and students "regarding matters that impact the health and safety of members of the UH community."

While the incident was no longer a threat after the gun was fired and the boy apparently discarded it, public school officials should look back on Monday’s incident with a "what if" assessment.

"There is no single, universal prescription that will be effective in dealing with every situation or crisis that will confront school administrators, law enforcement officials, parents and other individuals and organizations in the community," the U.S. Secret Service and federal Department of Education concluded in a 2002 guidebook.

They urged development of "relationships, processes and protocols that will contribute to reducing school violence and to creating safe and secure learning environments in this nation’s schools."

In the last school year, 37 students in Hawaii were automatically expelled for a year for bringing to school explosives or a firearm, mostly pellet or BB guns. One was a real handgun. A zero-tolerance policy over weapons in schools works. Hawaii does not warrant weapons-search or metal-detection methods, and Monday’s apparent case of curiosity over a found gun does not warrant overreaction. Still, education officials must be cognizant that lethal shootings, intentional or accidental, continue to occur at schools anywhere in the country. Awareness and education about weapon safety is crucial, as is the need for better communications in emergency situations.