Schools were built to keep children safe, to keep them worry-free, to improve their well-being. The first time I ever heard about an attack was 9/11. That was not even something that had to do with schools, but still, the children were in danger.
Every school year, we walk into school knowing how to “hide” from an intruder, practicing a minimum of two times a year. School lockdown drills were made to protect kids, realizing that unfortunately, school violence is a reality.
We practice these drills year after year, after year… I know that the drills are helping us prepare for an active shooter or other emergencies, but I feel like there should be more than that being enforced. In case you didn’t know, the Columbine High School Massacre, which happened over 26 years ago, is one of the deadliest school shootings in U.S. history. The attack was carried out by students themselves, who had a plan.
According to FBI records, their plan was to harm as many students and staff as possible. Once their own lives were taken, no justice was served. After this traumatic event, people had thoughts like never before.
This unfortunate event changed school safety protocols forever, which now help students and staff feel safer and protected. Columbine, still to this day, has people conversing about youth violence, and this first massacre shapes how people think of safety, to prevent anything like it from happening in the future.
Here are some helpful tips on staying safe in the event of an active shooter:
STAY QUIET
“The science and research show that if intruders don’t know for sure someone is in there, they try less hard and give cops more time to get to the students,” said LHS resource officer Shaun Drummond.
LIGHTS OFF
“You want to make the room appear empty even though you and I know it’s not empty. In the moment, they are like ‘the lights are off, no noise, move on to the next room.’ It buys more time for the cops to address the room,” said Drummond.
KNOW ALL EXIT OPTIONS
“In the school we train to hide first because it’s more controlled in training, and in a large building, it’s still safe, but you just need to know what you’re running to, and nobody can tell you what you’re running to. You have to figure it out in the heat of the moment. For example, when in a theater, don’t go out the same way you went into the theater. There are other exits that are faster; it’s better to think than to run into danger. Just like at school, just because you come into school from only two doors, if you’re closer to one, it’s okay to leave from there, just be cautious,” said Drummond.
PHONE-USE
“In a real event, the phones wouldn’t work due to everyone trying to make calls. It works like a 2-way radio, so in a big event, realistically, the phones wouldn’t work. For example, 9/11 it didn’t work due to the network shutting down,” said Drummond.
STAY LOW AND OUT OF SIGHT
“We were always trained to stay away from the window. Even though they can’t hear us or see us because the lights are off, we don’t want them to see us through a window. The most recent school shooting happened in Minneapolis, and the shooter didn’t go inside, just shot through the glass. Three years ago, there was a shooting that resulted in casualties, and he shot through the glass. So, if we can get away from the area, you can’t be seen or hurt. Then it gives the best chance for safety for everyone to go home,” said Drummond.
