Trust in officials - post-shooting

To add to my last post, post-tragic and horrendous elementary school shooting in the US, an American neighbour of mine illustrated to the point what I don't understand: In the US, most people only feel safe with a gun. What would have saved those children? Another gun, in the hands of e.g. a teacher? I then read in Salman Rushdie's biography "Joseph Anton", how he declined shooting training and a gun for self-defense during his fatwa years and states the following: "if he owned a gun and the bad guys were to attack it would be taken from him and turned against him." Guns cause death, they rarely defend. I hope - but am hopeless - that US policy on this would change.