Were there armed guards at Columbine? Ran across this editorial by Brandon Friedman in the NY Daily News: > Arming teachers in the classroom will cost kids' lives ... > There were armed guards at Columbine, the Pulse nightclub and in Las Vegas at the time of the massacre. At Parkland too. Time and again, armed civilians or security guards are out-maneuvered, out-gunned and too inexperienced. It’s difficult for a rational person to reach a state where they can go toe-to-toe with an armed psychopath who has nothing to lose. I was professionally trained and still almost blew it at the moment of truth. Ignoring the rest of the claims, were there indeed armed guards (in any real sense) at Columbine High School in April 1999?

There was one person assigned to the school from the Sheriff's department: Neil Gardner.

Source: Investor's Business Daily

Gardner was joined by motorcycle patrolman Paul Smoker, who had been writing a traffic ticket nearby.

Source: Wikipedia

By my definition, that is one armed guard at the school. Smoker was not in any way assigned to the school. He was simply the closest regular police officer to respond. You may of course count things differently.

Just to clarify things in context in which this claim is often being made (that armed guards were present, ergo, the idea of having armed guards or teaches is not helpful), the linked IBD article explicitly states:

> One thing is certain — **the armed resistance of Gardner and his backup bought time and saved lives**.