Title: School Shooting Prevention

Byline: Allison Wolf

Publication Date: 3/28/2018

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According to Darran Simon (02 March 2018), contributor to CNN, 12 school shootings have already occurred 

since the start of 2018.  This statistic includes any school shooting from kindergarten to the college level. Figure 1

shows where all school shootings have occurred since Newtown.  Because school shootings are occurring more

often, what safety precautions need to be in place at all schools to keep students safe?

 

Let’s go through a school day where safety measures are and aren't in place.  

 

Adelynn is a high school sophomore.  She comes from a rough home life and has never had it easy.  Over a

consecutive 3-month time span, she posts on Instagram and Snapchat pictures of guns and her hate for school.

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Step 1: Report

Situation A:  Adelynn’s peers report her activity on social media to the high school principal, Mr. Warner.  He tells the students not to worry, and he will look into it. Mr. Warner blows it off because he feels nothing will  happen at his school, and that he knows all his students well enough.

Situation B:  Mr. Warner follows through with the school policy regarding this type of incident, and the police become involved.  Adelynn ends up being arrested, and all students remain safe.

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Step 2: Metal Detectors

Two weeks later, Adelynn brings a gun to school and carries it under her clothes.  

Situation A: She walks right through the main doors that another 853 students walk through.  No one sees her face or the weapon. No one stops her. No one questions her.

Situation B:  Adelynn walks into the main doors with the other students and must go through a metal detector, as seen in Figure 2.  As she goes through, the detector goes off. The operator does a pat down and wand scan.  Adelynn gets caught trying to bring a gun into school and id arrested.  All students remain safe. According to Maria OCadiz (2018), contributor to Seattlepi, “Using metal detectors at the main entrances of schools generally serves to reduce the risk of students, staff or any other visitor entering the premises with a gun, knife, bomb or other dangerous metallic object.”  Metal detectors can prevent people from bringing weapons into schools, which is why schools should invest in them. According to Brandon Allred (10 August 2013), writer for Protective Technologies Int’l, “around 90 percent of parents feel that the kids would be more secured and safe if we have metal detectors for schools.”  With majority of parents willing to support metal detectors in schools, why not have them for extra precautions?

Situation C: Adelynn does not bring the gun to school because she knows she will not be able to get by the metal

detectors.  According to Michael White, eastern region director from Security Detection based in Holliston that

services both the Boston and Springfield school districts, new machines cost an average of $3,500 a piece, with

handheld wands costing $150 (as qtd in Corcoran, 13 May 2015).  Metal detectors are much more affordable

than what people realize.  If schools believe they cannot afford them, they could look for help from their

community, like donations or such.  Metal detectors could be a lifesaving add to a school.

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Adelynn goes to middle of the school and enters a biology classroom.  

Situation A: Before the teacher can even say a word, Adelynn pulls out the gun and opens fire.  She leaves this classroom

and moves to the next and the next and the next. By the time she runs out of ammo, she has been to 5 classrooms, staying at each for approximately 30 seconds.  Everyone is screaming, few in the rooms are still breathing. No one has a direct location on her and no one can stop her right away.

Situation B: Adelynn does not have a gun because the safety precautions above stopped her.

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In the Situation A above, realize every scenario will be different.  However, if an active shooter does make it into the school and classrooms, know what can help, what to do, and how to take action.  Teachers and students surrounding the biology classroom hear gunshots.  Prevent the shooter from being able to go classroom to classroom.

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Step 3: Locked Doors

Situation A: No one gets the door locked and Adelynn walks in.

Situation B: The teacher grabs the door key and scrambles to get the door locked.

Situation C: The teachers and/or students in the classrooms pull the magnetic strips off the door latches and the door locks.  Click here to see the magnetic strip being talked about.  This is the fastest way to get the door locked because it takes less than a second to remove the magnetic strip.  With the doors already locked, 24/7, no one has to try and find their key to lock the door. If the teacher is not in the room at the time, it also allows the students to easily protect themselves as well.

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Step 4: Get Out of Sight

Situation A: Students and/or the teachers stay in sight of Adelynn.  Therefore, Adelynn goes into the classroom filled with students or shoots through the window.

Situation B: Students grab their items (if possible) and hide behind a tape line.  Putting down a piece of tape on the floor can show students the area of the classroom where they will not be in sight of the shooter.  This can help keep everyone safe.

 

Step 5: Notify the Office

Situation A: If no one notifies the office, classrooms on other floors may not prepare in time.

Situation B: Once the classroom is secured and students are as safe as possible, someone needs to notify the

school’s office, if not done so already.  

 

Step 6: Cameras

When the police arrive, it is important to know exactly where the shooter is.  

Situation A: More students are killed because the police have to search the school until they can find Adelynn.  

Situation B: Because of the cameras in all hallways, the police are able to get a direct pathway to Adelynn.  

Having a visual on all hallways is very important in schools. It is not to invade privacy of students or to get them

in trouble, rather protect them.  As Adelynn is hopping room to room, school personnel and the police will have

a definite location on the shooter, and will not be going in blind. This can save law enforcement time by getting

the most direct pathway to the shooter.  According to the article “Cost to Install Video Surveillance Cameras”

(14 June 2017), found on Fixr, the average cost for four security cameras with installation and monitoring is

$1,200.  Surprisingly, cameras are not that expensive to invest in. With cameras, Adelynn can be taken down

quicker and more lives can be saved.  The cameras in Figure 3 are just an example of what could be placed in a school to keep

students safe.

 

Step 7: Do Not Open the Door for Just Anyone

Situation A: The teacher opens the door for a “police officer”, but actually it is Adelynn.  Adelynn then proceeds to shoot

everyone in that classroom.

Situation B: Never open the classroom door for anyone.  Sometimes people are not who they say they are.  Be sure to make

the person show their ID or police badge, seen in Figure 4, before allowing them in.  

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Visitor checks can be useful when the shooter is an outsider trying to come in.

Every situation will be different.  To protect students from outsiders, schools should only allow one entrance into the building.  The person coming in should have to go through a metal detector as well as security check.  According to the School Gate Guardian System (2018), a school management visitor system, “[the program is] fast and easy school visitor logging and tracking.”  The system will provide an instant sex offender checklist, customization unwanted persons checklist, time-expiring school visitor ID badge, and many more safety features.  The School Gate Guardian system says, “More than 350,000 family abductions occur each year, that is nearly 1,000 per day. Mothers flee with children in 54% of cases; Fathers in 46%.”  The school guardian system will run each visitors ID to check for restraining orders, sex offenders, and convicted felons. This will help protect students and keep them safe from people who should not be allowed in schools.

  

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