Meet the armed man who has been standing guard outside North Thurston schools
Tony Overman/toverman@theolympian.com
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Rolf Boone
Mon, September 26, 2022 at 7:00 AM·7 min read
Meet Anthony Triplett Jr. He’s 31, he lives near Lacey and he’s a nine-year Army veteran with two children enrolled in North Thurston Public Schools’ Evergreen Forest Elementary and Nisqually Middle School.
He has worked in federal security, he says, and he followed that by forming a nonprofit called All in a Days Work to address veteran suicides.
And then on May 24, a mass school shooting unfolded in Uvalde, Texas, killing 21 people, including 19 students.
Triplett’s children asked him if they had to return to school the next day.
“It was heartbreaking,” said Triplett. Galvanized by the moment, Triplett asked himself, “What can I do?”
Around the time of the Texas shooting, there were elevated concerns about school safety, said North Thurston Public Schools spokesman Aaron Wyatt. Some in the community offered to patrol school hallways and some asked if bullet-proof glass could be installed, he recalls.
Triplett decided to form Veteran Overwatch, essentially offering his services as a security guard. He wrote up a proposal and sent it to the city of Lacey and North Thurston Public Schools, he says, but did not get a response. He then took it upon himself about a week or two after the Uvalde shooting to stand guard near North Thurston High School.
Triplett said he is working with other veterans, but he appears to be the public face of the group.
When he is on watch, Triplett says he wears a bullet-proof vest, he identifies himself as part of Veteran Overwatch and he carries a pistol. He also has a service dog named Jade. Washington state has an open-carry law, meaning he is allowed to carry a weapon in public view. He also is licensed to carry a concealed weapon, which requires a background check, Triplett points out.
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