Article published on December 20, 2012 by Fox31 Denver.
FIRESTONE, Colo. — A retired U.S. Marine, and father, was moved to stand guard at his daughters’ school Thursday, in the wake of the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut last Friday.
The oil worker put on his fatigues and gave everyone at Imagine Charter School an added sense of security and safety.
Jared Vejrostek stood watch outside the school’s entrance for seven hours to guarantee a safe last day of school before the holidays for everyone at the school.
“Monday was real tough,” Vejrostek says. “You sit there and you fight with yourself… how am I supposed to be able to take my kids to school right now?”
Jared heard about a few other Marines across the country who were standing guard at their kids’ schools, and he thought it was a good way for him to contribute something meaningful.
With his daughters’ school’s permission and a visitors pass but no weapon in hand, Vejrostek stood watch. “It would be a good thing to just ease their minds off everything else, let them have that peace of mind so they can enjoy this day before the holidays.”
For Vejrostek it’s a way to get a conversation about school security started. “It’s unfortunate that one of the things that we don’t secure in this world is our kids, and I wanted to bring some light to that.”
He hopes the gesture gets the ball rolling toward some sort of a solution. “There’s so many parents out there that want something… anything to be done.”
He got a warm welcome from the school, and the approval of his daughters.
Imagine Charter School has security measures in place, but after what happened in Newtown, he felt like he had to do something.
And so he did.