Washtenaw County schools adopt new approach to confronting active shooters
A makeshift barricade in front of a doorway that was constructed during an ALICE program training exercise at the Washtenaw Intermediate School District offices. School staff practice standing in safe places.
Courtesy photo
At the consensus of all of the police agencies in the county, staff in all of the county’s public schools as well as Eastern Michigan University and Washtenaw Community College will be trained using the ALICE program this year, said Derrick Jackson, public information officer for the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office.
The method places a priority on getting away from danger, and if that’s not possible, knowing how to hide and stay secure in place with all the tools available -- not just by locking a door.
“We’re talking about lots of staff, lots of school buildings,” Jackson said. “ There will soon be trained staff from every school district in the county.”
Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office Deputy Jeremy Hilobuck carries an unloaded gun in a training exercise as a part of the ALICE program at the Washtenaw Intermediate School District offices.
Courtesy photo
It was created by a law enforcement officer, Greg Crane, after the 1999 tragedy at Columbine High School as an alternative to the way schools were preparing for active threats through lockdown drills.
“The primary difference is that we don’t teach a particular response, and we don’t believe that you can write a one-size-fits-all approach,” Crane said in an interview with AnnArbor.com. “Our philosophy was that, let’s stop giving people a plan and telling them they have to follow that particular plan. Let’s give them training and the authority and the ability to make their own decisions based on their own sensory input.”
The system trains teachers and school staff how to evaluate a situation and respond if they’re threatened by an active shooter in a school.
Instead of locking the classroom door and having students hide in a corner, the ALICE program trains teachers to use their instincts to decide if evacuating is a feasible option. The program also encourages barricading doors if evacuation is not an option, and teaches confrontation techniques to deter a shooter if face-to-face contact is made.
“How you train is how you respond,” Jackson said. “You either respond with fight, flight or freeze.”
Lockdown training effectively teaches people to freeze in an active shooter situation in a school, Crane said—which is why he developed the ALICE program.
“It’s not so much that the (lockdown) strategy doesn’t have its merits,” Crane said, stating that the danger is in making it the only strategy.
The ALICE program empowers the community to act by giving them options for responding to unpredictable, dangerous situations, Jackson said.
A search for school preparedness
Police agencies in Washtenaw County were confronted with questions about the safety of schools and preparedness of staff to deal with active shooters in the wake of the deadly shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in December, Jackson said.
"We know that the former lockdown protocol left our students and staff vulnerable and that more needed to be done to empower staff to take actions designed to save lives and buy more time until law enforcement officials could arrive on the scene," said Scott Menzel, superintendent of Washtenaw Intermediate School District and Ypsilanti Community Schools.
A number of options were considered—from drafting a new plan for Washtenaw County schools to using Department of Homeland Security data to adopting the Run, Hide, Fight program, Jackson said.
Jackson said the sheriff’s office discovered the ALICE program as it was being implemented in the Lincoln Park School District in Wayne County.
After watching the training program and how it was received in Lincoln Park schools, Jackson said the sheriff’s office recommended it to police chiefs in departments in Washtenaw County and they approved the choice. Superintendents in all of the county's school districts have agreed to the program.
"The training has been well-received by the local school districts, and the administrators who participated in the training feel good about having a more comprehensive plan were such an event to occur," Menzel said.
To date, there are police officers from every agency in Washtenaw County that have gone through the ALICE training program. They’re now responsible for training individuals in each school district, and the school districts will pass the training on to all of their staff.
Jackson said there were individuals in the training that had doubts about the effectiveness of the program—until they underwent an active shooter scenario in which a deputy fired blank rounds.
The simulations are a part of the overall training process for staff, Jackson said.
For Washtenaw County schools, it will be up to each individual district to determine how the ALICE program will be discussed with students, if at all, Jackson said. Conversations won’t happen with elementary school students, Jackson said.
Jackson stressed that implementation of the ALICE program will be a community conversation, as it is easily applicable to private schools, charter schools, preschools, hospitals and small to large businesses.
Designated emergency response teams in each district have already received the new training. For Ann Arbor Public Schools, spokeswoman Liz Margolis is among those that have received the training.
Margolis said that the training schedule is still being finalized and that parents will be notified of the change in the school's approach by letter.
A future parent session is also in the works for those that want to know more, Margolis said.
How the ALICE program works
The ALICE program is in use in 30 states by about 3 million staff and students, Crane said.
“We’ve told people for years that they have to stay in the building where there’s a very violent situation,” Crane said. “Not everyone is going to be in the same level of danger inside the building.”
Crane said the ALICE program places a priority on getting away from danger, and if that’s not possible, knowing how to be secure without just relying on a door.
“How do you make yourself a harder target?” Crane said.
Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office Deputy Jeremy Hilobuck carries an unloaded gun in a training exercise as a part of the ALICE program at the Washtenaw Intermediate School District offices.
Courtesy photo
“We’ve found in many of the (active shooter) situations that when they tried to breach (the door) and weren’t able to gain entry, they’ve moved on,” Crane said. “Every active shooter knows the police are on their way.”
Should contact be made with a shooter, the ALICE program trains people how to counter the potential attack.
Distracting a shooter by making noise or visually throwing them off allows you to gain distance from them—which in turns improves your outcome, Crane said.
“People don’t understand what an impact distance has on accurate shooting,” Crane said.
The counter methods the ALICE program includes have come under fire by critics, Crane said.
One of the counter techniques the program advocates for is throwing items at a shooter’s face, because people are naturally inclined to duck if something is thrown at their face, Crane said.
“Our critics say it’s crazy to throw a stapler at a gunman,” Crane said, explaining: “A stapler is not a weapon; it’s a distraction.”
The ALICE program also recommends schools stop using the word “lockdown” in the event of an active shooter in the building.
“Tell them what you know—if their lives are in danger, everyone deserves to know what’s going on,” Crane said. “Don’t give people commands; give them information.”
Amy Biolchini is the K-12 education reporter for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at (734) 623-2552, amybiolchini@annarbor.com or on Twitter.
Comments
snapshot
Sun, Sep 1, 2013 : 3:19 a.m.
I learned all this by playing "cowboys and Indians" and getting into school yard brawls as a kid.....yeah, I know it's not politically correct......now. Funny how political correctness goes out the window when you're getting shot at. Let's also hope that if a shooter is shooting, the cops go in to stop it rather taking a couple of hours to set up an interagency perimeter like they did at Columbine. Get there, get in, and get the bad guy.
A2centsworth
Sat, Aug 31, 2013 : 1:37 p.m.
There is a dangerous element to this "weekend" training that no one seems to have commented upon. It offers a false sense of security. In a situation with real bullets, adrenaline and fear takes over. I would rather have that happening with a 9mm in my hand shooting back, than having to try and remember my tetris skills to stack the furniture against the door. Schools are unarmed sitting ducks, that is why shooters are targeting them. How often do we hear about shooters attacking a police station? a firearms store? The horrible truth is, these shootings are not going to stop, unless the schools are no longer seen as viable victims. We need ongoing firearm training for staff and teachers. Those who choose not to carry, can rely on the hide and seek method. But give these people a viable and realistic option to survive. Those people who survived by hiding were simply lucky. Those children were young enough to listen to their teacher without question. Try that with middle school or high school students... The trouble with this is schools want to appear to be "doing something", in order to make people feel safer. They are failing by promoting a false sense of security. Guns are not the problem, the problem is the ideology that "talking someone down" is a viable option. Antoinette Tuff, got lucky. She is the anomaly. The reality is, the armed assailant must be taken down, the quicker the better before he harms anyone else. He is a crazed lunatic focused on a high body count. If the principal from Sandy Hook had a gun, she would be alive today. Her family would not be mourning her. She was not a hero, she was an untrained civilian approaching a shooter, and that is what got her killed. Combat, military training is what is needed, only it is politically incorrect at this time of fairy tale logic. I will continue to carry my firearm and will not hesitate to use it if the need arises.
Tru2Blu76
Sat, Aug 31, 2013 : 3:52 a.m.
What is not visible: is if the handgun chosen for this "safety exercise" is of the type which accepts inexpensive (~ $20) "training barrels - which are 100% safe because they 100% prevent the handgun from being loaded. When fitted to the appropriate gun (semi-auto type) these vividly colored training barrels make it clear that the gun is deactivated and safe to carry around others. What is visible: The officer does have his finger on the trigger of the handgun. This is of NO value to either the trainers or those participating in the safety drill. Couldn't help noticing that a commenter thinks $800,000 for security doors in our schools is "not a reasonable use of money." To which I say: lets divide that $800K by the numbers of students and teachers who would be better protected over the lifetime of the doors. Lets say also that $800 K would have been cheap if it had been spent on more secure doors in the Sandy Hook Elementary School. That works out to less than $31,000 for each of the children and teachers killed there last December. And it's WAY MORE cost effective than the Fantasy Living Gun Free Zones we've been depending on.
sh1
Sat, Aug 31, 2013 : 12:37 p.m.
Sandy Hook had security doors but a powerful gun was able to shoot through. My point is that $800,000 is a lot of money to pay when a shooter could just walk through an open window.
L. C. Burgundy
Fri, Aug 30, 2013 : 10:39 p.m.
It's good to see this kind of training done, but working guns, even if they're unloaded, should never be used in training exercises.
SlothluvsChunk
Fri, Aug 30, 2013 : 10:03 p.m.
Hey, I know Officer Hilobuck.. he's a great guy! I dated his cousin years ago when I was in college! Although extremely sad that this has now become part of our school/educational system,it's good to know teachers/administrators are learning the proper/ most effective way to handle this kind of situation.
Greg
Fri, Aug 30, 2013 : 9:42 p.m.
Just post a no guns allowed sign. Criminals and nuts always follow the rules.
Jon Saalberg
Fri, Aug 30, 2013 : 6:10 p.m.
This is lunacy. Food allergies kill 150 to 200 a year, a large number of whom are children. This is a far greater danger to our children than an attack from a school intruder - yet the hysteria that grips our country results in these measures that waste resources that would be much better spent educating our children, not creating an environment of fear.
Mick52
Fri, Aug 30, 2013 : 5:47 p.m.
Exactly what I was going to post Joe. So if the doors are unlocked the barricade can be cleared from outside. They would interfere with gunfire. Doors in public buildings typically open out for better exit during fires when people tend to rush out.
Joe Hood
Fri, Aug 30, 2013 : 5:16 p.m.
Hmm, the picture shows an inside barricade on doors that open out (seems almost cartoonish--and I understand it was a training exercise but probably not the best publicity shot).
dasheek
Fri, Aug 30, 2013 : 9:57 p.m.
What you lack to see is the participants belt that was wrapped around the two doors to keep them from opening outward. The tables were put in place in case the belt failed to slow him down. I was sitting next to the gentlemen who placed the belt around the doors.
AAW
Fri, Aug 30, 2013 : 4:10 p.m.
This training is a great idea. But student, staff, parents, visitors....all need to make sure that a locked door is closed behind them everytime.
Steven Taylor
Sat, Aug 31, 2013 : 2:16 a.m.
Locked doors, windows certainly didn't stop Lanza.. locks aren't an impediment to a determined loon intent on carnage.
Eduard Copely
Fri, Aug 30, 2013 : 3:56 p.m.
One piece of advice is to: Run, Forest, Run! Seriously, memorize the nearest exit and make a b-line for it at the first sign of trouble.
highlarryus
Fri, Aug 30, 2013 : 3:39 p.m.
This is a sad, sad commentary on our times. I was at WCC yesterday and our instructor did a brief overview of what to do in case of an active shooter. All four 50+ year old students in the class felt the need to laugh, joke about it or wax poetic. It was strange to make light of the discussion, given all those who have died in the numerous tragedies. It made me sick to my stomach and immediately lose respect for these classmates.
sh1
Fri, Aug 30, 2013 : 4 p.m.
What they might have been thinking about is the fact that there has been no increase in school violence since they were children, that it is something tragic but very, very rare.
sheepyd
Fri, Aug 30, 2013 : 2:47 p.m.
Amy, Any reason why UofM isn't participating and if they are not what type of training do they provide? Something tells me they advise people to give up and be victims, perhaps then they can more easily cover up that an incident ever occurred. I'm sure their faculty and students don't need any type of training. They are the leaders and the best ya know!
tommy_t
Fri, Aug 30, 2013 : 2:42 p.m.
These officers should not be running around here with real firearms - they should have BLUE training guns. Just sayin'.
dasheek
Sat, Aug 31, 2013 : 2:47 p.m.
You are correct @bbb the caption is not correct.
bbb
Fri, Aug 30, 2013 : 11:40 p.m.
@dasheek The caption must be wrong then, because it says that the deputy was carrying an unloaded gun. Even so, you need to be careful walking around a school in all black clothes holding something that looks like a real gun.
dasheek
Fri, Aug 30, 2013 : 9:54 p.m.
Seeing as I was at this training let it be noted that it was a .22 starters pistol that was fired during the training. This is the reason for not using a training pistol.
bbb
Fri, Aug 30, 2013 : 4:45 p.m.
That's exactly what I was thinking when I saw the picture. Treat every firearm as if it's loaded and the manual safety (if there is one) is off. Unless your training involves live fire, it's best to use a colored training gun and avoid the potential for accidents/misunderstandings. And in this case, I'm pretty sure there was no need for any sort of live fire.
Mr. Ed
Fri, Aug 30, 2013 : 3:35 p.m.
Why blue? I thought a training gun is orange. Just sayin'.
sheepyd
Fri, Aug 30, 2013 : 2:41 p.m.
mandatory firearms training for kindegarten students. Chemical weapons cache in every middle school. Gun Turrets with .50 cal machine guns at every pre-school. No more math, science, reading or history. only weapons training and survival skills taught to all american children. Then maybe the nut jobs on this website who kiss their guns good night will be happy. Get a life cowards, not everyone walks around afraid all the time.
Frank Lee
Fri, Aug 30, 2013 : 2:36 p.m.
Logic: If there is a small fire, run from it before it spreads. Do not try to extinguish the fire with a fire extinguisher. Create barricades and safe places. Should the fire enter your safe place, throw objects at it. Rest assure, fire extinguishers are on the way and will devise a plan to enter the building that was fully engulfed in flames some time ago.
Ricebrnr
Sat, Aug 31, 2013 : 12:39 p.m.
Why that last statement was the most accurate part of your answer. Both scenarios DO require an immediate reponse to prevent greater tragedy.
ArborMama
Fri, Aug 30, 2013 : 7:25 p.m.
Don't know why that last sentence was tacked on there. Ignore. :-)
ArborMama
Fri, Aug 30, 2013 : 7:24 p.m.
You're equating a shooter with a fire. OK... keeping in line with that argument, you then equate a fire extinguisher with armed staff, stating that refusing to arm school staff is akin to a school without fire extinguishers. This is ridiculous. A fire extinguisher is NOT a small fire. Exact opposite. Using your analogy, if we armed teachers, we'd be fighting "fire" with "fire". Yes, a fire and a shooter are both scenarios that necessitate an immediate response. However, a good many of us don't feel that keeping many small fires on school grounds keeps our children any safer from a fire. Yes, both are scenarios that necessitate an immediate response.
Frank Lee
Fri, Aug 30, 2013 : 6:18 p.m.
@Peregrine – The equation is that both are threats that should be addressed immediately, not something to hide from as they continue to escalate and cause damage. We mandate fire extinguishers which are kept in secure locations and staff are trained how to use them appropriately. This is an immediate response until help arrives on a grander scale. The same should go for firearms. Why are we wasting precious time for someone to show up with an object that could be kept on site? Your provide great examples of how the current system has led to mass casualty. The fact that both examples were finally brought to an end with the use of a firearm only supports my stance. It's a grim reality, not fantasy.
Ricebrnr
Fri, Aug 30, 2013 : 4:31 p.m.
"1) In Sandy Hook the principal, school psychologist, and lead teacher went to the source of the shooting when they heard it. The first two were shot and killed. " The school was a barricade. The front doors were locked. Interesting how you parse your citations...
Peregrine
Fri, Aug 30, 2013 : 3:52 p.m.
I don't think equating a shooter with a fire has anything to do with logic. The fact is that through the use of barricading in place, students and staff were saved at Sandy Hook and Virginia Tech. Quotes from Wikipedia.... Sandy Hook: "Music teacher Maryrose Kristopik, 50, barricaded her fourth-graders in a tiny supply closet during the rampage.Lanza arrived moments later, pounding and yelling "Let me in", while the students in Kristopik's class quietly hid inside." Virginia Tech: "Students, including Zach Petkewicz, barricaded the door of room 205 with a large table after substitute professor Haiyan Cheng and a student saw Cho heading toward them. Cho shot several times through the door but failed to force his way in. No one in that classroom was wounded or killed." So let's use actual logic rather than fantasized logic.
jcj
Fri, Aug 30, 2013 : 1:27 p.m.
The table and chairs offer infinitely more protection than most walls. I remember as a 7th grader my friend getting mad and putting his fist through the wall. He would never have put it through a table or chair. Way too many shooting scenarios on TV that in no way represent reality!
jcj
Sat, Aug 31, 2013 : 12:21 p.m.
trublue As for your uninformed statement that "Tables and chairs - or unarmored doors provide zero protection from gun fire." You know not of what you speak! Doors in a school are typically solid core doors which is different from the hollow core doors you probably have in your home. And these doors WILL stop many small calibers found in handguns. Assault rifles? Not so much.
jcj
Sat, Aug 31, 2013 : 12:18 p.m.
TruBlu76 How many walls have YOU built? I was specifically talking about the walls in a school that are typically about 20 ga metal studs and drywall. I have been involved in building for 40 years. Everything from bank vaults to ex ray rooms to classrooms. And I know for a fact that there are very few calibers that will not pass all the way through a wall with metal or wood studs and 1/2" or 5/8 " drywall. From a 177 cal pellet rifle to whatever. So I base MY statement on 40 years experience talking about a specific type of wall. Even a 3rd grader would know there ids not much you can or will carry that will penetrate a concrete wall!
Tru2Blu76
Sat, Aug 31, 2013 : 3:31 a.m.
Tables and chairs - or unarmored doors provide zero protection from gun fire. Just FYI: 8 inches of stacked books will stop even magnum pistol bullets and "typical" rounds from the "AK-47" and AR-15 style "assault rifles." "Walls" - without knowing what materials the wall is made of: there is no basis for any statement about penetrability.
jcj
Fri, Aug 30, 2013 : 6:26 p.m.
This ended up on the wrong post. Ann ArBo My ONLY point was that drywall walls offer less protection than a table or chair as pictured. Depending on the caliber of a handgun, the table picture will stop many calibers. The point being IF you can put your fist through something in will NOT stop a bullet that offers more than 20 ft lbs of energy at the muzzle. I would like to see you put your fist through the pictured table. And I don't get my information from TV. I suspect I have been shooting firearms since before you were born. I have taken Bear, Elk, Moose, Caribou all over N. America. So you are not talking to a Wyatt Earp wanna be!
AnnArBo
Fri, Aug 30, 2013 : 1:49 p.m.
No one is talking about fists here......tables and chairs offer NO protection from bullets, that's only on TV. All this is, is a delaying tactic, the reality is in a situation like this, if you look like food, you will be eaten. It's time to get serious about our children's protection, and not put faith in these half measures that seem to pass the politically driven fear mentality of armed protection.
G. Orwell
Fri, Aug 30, 2013 : 1:25 p.m.
Teachers in Israel pack heat and it seems to work well there. No mass shootings at schools. I don't think the teachers should open carry like in Israel. Concealed 9mm or 40 calibre handguns should work. Not all teachers should be armed. Only those that want to and pass strict training and test. https://www.google.com/search?q=israeli+teacher+with+gun&client=safari&hl=en&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=9ZsgUvb-AojE2QXbtYCIBw&ved=0CCoQsAQ&biw=768&bih=901
metrichead
Sun, Sep 1, 2013 : 1:26 a.m.
I wouldn't have a problem a teacher who chooses on their own time to have training for such things. My points are that educators didn't get into teaching for the purposes of stopping the next mass shooting. Two, Israelis aren't like Americans. Everyone gets conscripted (while only about half serve in the military). There are far more people with the training and capacity to neutralize a threat there than there are here.
Ricebrnr
Sat, Aug 31, 2013 : 12:46 p.m.
Metrichead, so by that argument I take it you would be in favor of allowing teachers who choose to get training on there own time and dime to carry in schools...
metrichead
Sat, Aug 31, 2013 : 4:50 a.m.
G. Orwell, Israel has conscription. About half the country has military training over there. In the US, teachers don't go through all that training to stop shooters. They're in schools to educate people.
snark12
Fri, Aug 30, 2013 : 6:08 p.m.
It's also not true. Israeli teachers are not armed, except in very dangerous areas like the West Bank. The picture going around of the teacher with a rifle is a right-wing fantasy. http://www.israeltoday.co.il/NewsItem/tabid/178/nid/23572/Default.aspx
sh1
Fri, Aug 30, 2013 : 4:05 p.m.
Israel has about one thousand the population of the U.S. and has only been a country for 70-so years, so it's probably not a viable comparison.
bobslowson
Fri, Aug 30, 2013 : 2:24 p.m.
Good thing the United States of America is not Israel.
AnnArBo
Fri, Aug 30, 2013 : 12:56 p.m.
The head photo pretty much sums up how ridiculous this is..........standing upright behind a drywall partition next to a barricaded door is the worst place to find cover from an active shooter. Anyone who knows anything about a fire fight knows interior walls offer no protection from a shooter. "The ALICE program empowers the community to act by giving them options for responding to unpredictable, dangerous situations, Jackson said. " Sadly the ONE option that is the best option, a well trained armed security person is off the table, because it's not politically correct, so our children get less protection than our banks, politicians, sports stars, or celebrities and we are putting our faith in staplers, tables, chairs, and unarmed victims.
A2centsworth
Sat, Aug 31, 2013 : 1:42 p.m.
Take a look at the other photo, the woman there has her hand raised over her head getting ready to toss a ball at the "armed assailant", while using a chair to hide behind. That photo is so ridiculous I cannot even begin to comment!
jcj
Fri, Aug 30, 2013 : 6:25 p.m.
Ann ArBo My ONLY point was that drywall walls offer less protection than a table or chair as pictured. Depending on the caliber of a handgun, the table picture will stop many calibers. The point being IF you can put your fist through something in will NOT stop a bullet that offers more than 20 ft lbs of energy at the muzzle. I would like to see you put your fist through the pictured table. And I don't get my information from TV. I suspect I have been shooting firearms since before you were born. I have taken Bear, Elk, Moose, Caribou all over N. America. So you are not talking to a Wyatt Earp wanna be!
J. A. Pieper
Fri, Aug 30, 2013 : 3:49 p.m.
Reverend, not in the schools I have worked in, many/most of the walls are drywall, unless they are along the outside of the building and then are considered support walls.
Reverend Bubba X
Fri, Aug 30, 2013 : 3:14 p.m.
Typo - the, not thh
Reverend Bubba X
Fri, Aug 30, 2013 : 3:12 p.m.
School building interior walls are generally made of concrete block or poured concrete walls, not drywall. "Anybody who knows anything about..." apparently doesn't know much. Including thh fallacy of the straw man argument.
Homeland Conspiracy
Fri, Aug 30, 2013 : 11:46 a.m.
Be afraid, be very afraid
Jeff Gaynor
Fri, Aug 30, 2013 : 11:39 a.m.
"Don't give people commands; give them information." Worth repeating, in this and many other situations - especially in schools. (I won't start in on how we're forgetting to educate students; that's another topic, though perhaps a related mindset.)
Billy
Fri, Aug 30, 2013 : 11:28 a.m.
"Instead of locking the classroom door and having students hide in a corner, the ALICE program trains teachers to use their instincts to decide if evacuating is a feasible option." This is excellent...in MOST school shootings, the shooting could have been minimized or STOPPED by someone being proactive...instead of running and hiding like scared sheep. Yeah...you might die trying to be a hero...but at least you made the attempt instead of hiding under a desk and waiting to be killed. Wasn't it not but a week or so ago that a lady talked a school shooter down? She COULD have taken her kids, hidden in the corner, and just coward while waiting to be killed...INSTEAD she was PROACTIVE and made an effort to stop the situation. ALSO.....teachers with a CPL and some proper training would be INFINITELY more effective and provide a safer environment for our children....just saying...
Peregrine
Fri, Aug 30, 2013 : 2:39 p.m.
@Billy: You're making unsubstantiated claims and showing that you missed key facts in previous incidents. 1) In Sandy Hook the principal, school psychologist, and lead teacher went to the source of the shooting when they heard it. The first two were shot and killed. The third returned to a meeting room and barricaded the door and survived, although being shot. The three alerted the rest of the school that a shooter was on the premises. 2) In the more recent Ronald E. McNair Discovery Learning Academy incident in Atlanta, the shooter was talked down not by a teacher with students but by a clerk in the office. 3) You ignore the number of children who were saved in various incidents because they were able to barricade themselves in their classroom. You hold the view that the ALICE program is trying to overcome, that a single solution should be used in all circumstances. Think about that and give your caps lock key a rest.
sh1
Fri, Aug 30, 2013 : 11:22 a.m.
I think this is an improvement over the current system. Training and common sense trump one-size-fits-all rules. I still want to point out that replacing all doors in our buildings at a cost of $800,000 is not a reasonable use of money as long as we have non-air conditioned schools with windows open.
snark12
Fri, Aug 30, 2013 : 6:01 p.m.
Schools making an effort to arm staff have already experienced several accidental shootings, even during training exercises. Luckily no one has been killed yet. The latest one involved rubber bullets: http://slate.me/1704aYp
Ricebrnr
Fri, Aug 30, 2013 : 4:41 p.m.
aamom, example to the contrary https://americanhandgunner.com/the-tucson-atrocity-joe-zamudios-story/ Joe Zamudio ran to the sounds of the Tucson shooting with weapon drawn. Properly assessed the situation and DID NOT shoot. Also its fairly easy to identify an "active shooter." They'd be the one actively shooting at people like fish in a barrel.
Frank Lee
Fri, Aug 30, 2013 : 1:16 p.m.
@Ricebrnr - Individuals with CPL's can already open carry in most pistol free zones.
aamom
Fri, Aug 30, 2013 : 12:38 p.m.
So let's say, hypothetically, that a shooter starts shooting in the hallway. Four "good guys" (visiting parents) in 4 different classrooms all enter hallway with guns drawn to see if they can help. Now we have 5 people with guns in the hallway and only the shooter knows which one is really the "bad guy". Might end well, might end poorly. "Good guy" Mr. Clark might actually shoot "good guy" Mr. Smith because he knew the gunshots were coming from that direction, not to mention that he entered the hallway, understandably, with serious adrenaline pumping. Meanwhile actual gunman continues rampage a few minutes longer or gets a head start on escape. While it is interesting to think of the various hypothetical situations, it is very unlikely any of our students will ever actually find themselves in this situation. It is much more likely, given the increase in mental health problems in our country, that one of our "good guys" will develop a mental health problem. Maybe they wouldn't come to school with their guns during this time, but maybe they would. This scares me even more.
Ricebrnr
Fri, Aug 30, 2013 : 11:32 a.m.
It will cost nothing to allow students, employees and parents with CPLs to enter schools. Programs like this are admissions that gun free zones are a fantasy. We should allow backgound checked and certified good guys to throw lead if necessary. Not distractions.