Children died praying last week in Minnesota.

Two students were killed, eighteen wounded, as a 23-year-old former student fired through stained-glass windows at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis. He carried a rifle, a shotgun, a pistol. He left behind a manifesto, hate-filled and rehearsed.

Politicians swore outrage. They promised answers. They offered prayers. They will do nothing.

We have lived this scene before, at schools, malls, churches, and will again. Each time, the reasons come quick: mental illness, guns, broken families, too much hate. And each time, change dies before the victims are buried.

So here is a thought: Treat cell phones like handguns on school grounds.

Every student over thirteen carries one. Every threat spreads through one. Every panic, every rumor, every live-streamed tragedy begins with one glowing screen.

Guns kill. But phones feed the frenzy, spread the fear and flood the day with noise until no one sees danger forming.

The fix could be simple:

• Students keep phones in lockers or leave them home.
• Bring one into class, it’s confiscated until the final bell.
• Districts issue flip phones for emergencies, call and text only.
• Courts already allow schools to limit speech and search lockers. A phone, like a weapon, can be restricted when safety demands it.

Yes, it would face lawsuits. Yes, it would anger parents. As did metal detectors. As did locker checks. As did lockdown drills.

Phones are not guns. But they have become the eyes and ears of every crisis. We regulate backpacks, dress codes, food allergies. We can regulate this.

We cannot control minds. We cannot erase every gun. But we can slow the flood of fear, the instant spread of chaos, the culture that treats tragedy like content.

Politicians won’t touch guns. Fine. Let them explain why phones deserve freer reign than cigarettes or knives or megaphones in the middle of algebra.

Children died praying. That should be enough to try something bold.

Treat cell phones like handguns on school grounds. Lock them away. Limit their use. Give classrooms back to teachers and kids.

It will feel radical. So did seat belts. So did banning drunk driving. So does every law that puts lives first.