If you see something, say something! 
 
 Well, unless you’re an idiot: 
 
 The Rapides Parish [Louisiana] Sheriff’s Office … and KALB were contacted by several residents who were concerned about the signs and that they might have been [a] terror message written in Arabic. The sheriff’s office says not to worry, they are actually “welcome home” signs written in Hebrew and not in any way affiliated with ISIS. 
 
 According to the Times of Israel, the signs that terrified several residents of Gardner, Louisiana, “actually say[ ] ‘Welcome Home, Yamit,” in a boxy Hebrew scrawl, likely by a non-native Israeli or child.” So it’s not very good Hebrew, apparently, but it doesn’t really look anything like this— 
 
 
 
 which is the ISIS flag they seem to have been worried about, bearing letters in actual Arabic script. (It doesn’t say “Welcome Home, Yamit,” but you probably guessed that.) 
 
 Let us set aside the textual issues for a moment, because I realize a lot of people, especially in Rapides Parish, are not going to be familiar with Hebrew or Arabic, especially in non-standard forms like this. It’d be difficult for most of us to look at either of these images out of context and tell what language it is, probably. I get that. But here are some things to remember: 
 
 You are not necessarily in danger just because you see something you don’t recognize. 
 
 The risk that you will be in the danger zone of a terror attack is incredibly low overall. 
 
 It’s probably even lower in Gardner, Louisiana, not known to be high on the list of ISIS targets. 
 
 If it were, the terrorists probably would not warn you or communicate with each other by putting up signs. 
 
 And if they just wanted to terrorize you with signs, they wouldn’t write them IN ARABIC. 
 
 This kind of stupidity is rampant, of course. But as long as I’m picking on Louisiana, I’m going to mention the time last year when the state legislature was considering whether to make the Bible the official state book and the main disagreement was over which version of the Bible it would be, and also the state lawmaker who tried to take back her vote for a bill authorizing public funds for religious schools because she had “mistakenly assumed that ‘religious’ meant ‘Christian.'” Translation: she had just learned there were some Muslims in Louisiana. 
 
 Of course, these signs are clear evidence that there are at least three religious groups present (four if you count the Protestants), so it’s almost starting to look like a melting pot down there. ||||| July 1, 2016 - Shelby County Sheriff's deputies work the scene where four young children were fatally stabbed at the Greens of Irene apartments Friday afternoon. The mother of the children is in custody. Sheriff Bill Oldham said all the children are under 6 years old. (Mark Weber/The Commercial Appeal) 
 
 By Daniel Connolly of The Commercial Appeal 
 
 Shanynthia Gardner was charged overnight with multiple offenses in connection with the stabbing deaths of her four children in southeast Shelby County. 
 
 Gardner, 29, faces four counts of first-degree murder associated with aggravated child abuse, four counts of first-degree murder in association with aggravated child neglect, plus four more counts each of aggravated child abuse and aggravated child neglect or endangerment. 
 
 The details of the charging document states deputies were called to 7449 Southern Hill Drive, Apt. 101 at 12:28 p.m. Friday. The nature was “a wounding call where four juveniles were found deceased upon Deputies’ arrival.” 
 
 According to Gardner's arrest affidavit, deputies found Garner on the scene with "superficial cuts to her neck and wrists." The four children were found with "severe throat lacerations" were: six-month old Yahzi; Sya, 3; Sahvi, 2; and 4-year-old Tallen. A witness told deputies he saw 7-year-old Dallen run from the home and say his mother stabbed his sister, the affidavit said. 
 
 The children's father, Martin Gardner, spoke to Shanynthia on the phone at 12:50 p.m. and she admitted to killing their four children, the affidavit said. Deputies recovered a bloody butcher knife from the home. 
 
 Gardner's charging document lists her as 5-foot-6, 145 pounds with black hair and brown eyes. She uses the nickname “Yari.” 
 
 The charges capped a day that started after a 911 call led deputies to an apartment on Southern Hill in the Greens of Irene complex, and the discovery of the four children in the unit. 
 
 It was one of the worst acts of violence in what’s already been a bloody year in the Memphis area. 
 
 "I've seen a lot of bad stuff in 33 years, but this is the worst," said Mark Dunbar, Shelby County assistant chief deputy. 
 
 Shelby County Sheriff Bill Oldham somberly addressed reporters Friday afternoon, saying, "This is an egregious act of evil that has shocked us to our core." 
 
 The sheriff's office said all the children were under 6 years old. Oldham said it wasn't clear if anyone else had been present at the time of the killings. 
 
 Sheriff's deputies Friday had blocked off one section of the sprawling, well-maintained complex of neat brick buildings, and a reporter saw a boy behind police tape before security guards began clearing journalists out of the area, which is private property. 
 
 Throughout the sunny, hot afternoon, the guards moved journalists farther from the crime scene. They began screening drivers at an entrance gate into the complex to make sure they were residents. A line of vehicles stretched into nearby Shelby Drive. 
 
 As the investigation went on, golfers in baseball caps continued their games on the Irene Golf and Country Club, which adjoins the apartment complex. Later, authorities ordered the golf course closed, and golfers were reimbursed for their round and asked to leave, officials with the course said. It wasn't clear when the course would reopen. 
 
 "I could never imagine this, not in this neighborhood. It's really quiet. We've never had a problem," said Barbara Hilliard, a resident of the community for seven years. 
 
 Resident Harold Morris learned of the situation after receiving a call from his nephew. Morris said he never imagined something like this happening in his community. "This is one of the best places I ever lived in my life," he said. 
 
 A church vigil for the victims took place Friday night. 
 
 This is among the area's worst multiple homicides since the Lester Street killings in 2008, which was one of the bloodiest mass killings in Memphis history. Jessie Dotson was convicted of six counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of four adults and two children in Binghamton. 
 
 As of Friday evening, a total of 115 homicides had been recorded within the Memphis city limits, including several children and teenagers. This year's homicide count is on track to exceed the 2015 total of 161. 
 
 But the stabbing deaths of the children took place Friday in an unincorporated area outside the city limits that's patrolled by the sheriff's office. Including the four children, the sheriff's office has dealt with three cases covering seven homicides in less than four weeks. 
 
 The Tennessee Department of Children's Services had no history of violence involving the woman and victims, officials said. 
 
 "We have been contacted by the Shelby County Sheriff's Department and of course we are standing by to see if we can be any help," said Rob Johnson, DCS communications director. "At this time we've done an exhaustive search and we are not aware of any contact with this family." 
 
 The killings left many people wondering why someone would hurt children. One person who's studied this question is Dr. Phillip Resnick, a professor of psychiatry at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland who for decades has studied similar cases. He assisted the legal defense of Andrea Yates and Susan Smith, mothers accused of killing their offspring. 
 
 He emphasized he had no knowledge about Friday's case and wasn't commenting on it. But he answered the general question of why mothers might kill children and said his research has determined five principal reasons. 
 
 The first is a warped form of altruistic love: the mother is suicidal and believes the children would be better off joining her in heaven than living without their mother on this earth, he said. The second is child battery that leads to a death. 
 
 The third is killing of unwanted infants — for instance, the baby might stand in the way of a marriage. 
 
 "The most dangerous day of your life is the day you were born," he said. 
 
 The fourth common reason for killing a child is revenge against a spouse. 
 
 And the fifth reason is psychotic behavior for which there's no rational explanation at all, he said. 
 
 Each year, about 500 children are killed by their parents in the U.S., he said. About equal numbers are killed by mothers and by fathers. Teenagers are more likely to be killed by fathers, infants are more likely to be killed by mothers. 
 
 County Commissioner Mark Billingsley spoke with reporters at the scene. He said he didn't know what led to the killings, but said the government should invest in mental health treatment. 
 
 "A gigantic percentage of people who are incarcerated today have mental health issues." 
 
 He also said the sheriff has reached out to the child advocacy center and said that, in general, people should look out for neighbors in crisis. "It takes all of us paying attention to our neighbors." 
 
 Frederick Smith, 47, pastor of nearby New Life Church of God in Christ, came to the area, saying his wife had sent him to help, saying, "You've got to see what we can do." He said the church would offer child care Monday through Friday to any parent who's suffering from mental illness or who needs support. "We'll take them for free." 
 
 Reporters Yolanda Jones, J.T. Mullen and Kayleigh Skinner, and editor Stephanie Norton, contributed to this report. 
 
 OTHER MASS HOMICIDES July 31, 2013: Jamina Briggs, then 31, stabbed her two sons to death at their home at 230 Tillman Street in Binghamton after being commanded by “evil voices.” She was found not guilty by reason of insanity in the deaths of Nicholas Briggs, 6, and Jeremiah Briggs, 1. March 2, 2008: Jessie Dotson, then 33, kills four adults and two children at 722 Lester Street in Binghamton. Dotson’s brother Cecil Dotson, 30, was shot to death along with Marissa Rene Williams, 27; Hollis Seals, 33; and Shindri Roberson, 22. Dotson also stabbed and killed Cecil Dotson’s sons, Cemario Dotson, 4, and Cecil Dotson II, 2. 
 
 July 30, 2005: Timothy James Fleming, 39, hit and strangled his live-in girlfriend, Julie H. Hall, 29, and killed two of their children at their home at 421 King Ridge Drive in Collierville. Hall’s daughter, 11-year-old Chelsea Morgan was strangled and drowned. Fleming and Hall’s 4-year-old daughter, Brooke Fleming, was drowned. Fleming then hanged himself. 
 
 January 9, 1998: Gary Russell, 42, shot and killed his two sons before killing himself at their home at 230 Fawn Lake Drive in Shelby Forest. The bodies of Russell, James Robert Russell, 9, and John William Russell, 4, were found on the drive outside the garage.
– The Louisiana town of Gardner—population 1,964—was on high alert last week after residents spotted a number of signs around town that could have contained a "terror message written in Arabic," per KALB. In reality, those signs held a much more innocent message. The station reports that several residents contacted the sheriff's office out of concern over the handwritten signs. After some investigation, the sheriff determined the signs were "not in anyway affiliated with ISIS" and actually contained a "welcome home" message written in Hebrew. Specifically, the signs read, "Welcome Home, Yamit" in what the Times of Israel describes as a "boxy Hebrew scrawl" likely done by a child or a non-native Israeli. The Lowering the Bar blog has a few pieces of advice for people to keep in mind to avoid similar sign-induced panic in the future. First: "You are not necessarily in danger just because you see something you don't recognize." Second, Gardner is "not known to be high on the list of ISIS targets." Finally, terrorists aren't likely to communicate with each other via conspicuous signage, and if the signs were meant to terrorize residents, they would probably be written in English.