A quote from a student this week has some parents in Rockford asking questions about "active shooter" situation protocol.

Imagine finding out there's a possible active shooter situation at a school where a child in your life attends. As a parent, it scares the hell out of me. My oldest child is in 4th grade and has already been through an "active shooter" drill at school, which he described in detail. After learning the step-by-step procedure of the drill I feel a little bit better about that whole situation. But, what if it isn't the same at every school?

This question came up amongst other parents after a story was published on WIFR.com with a standout quote from a student at the school that recently had a false "active shooter" situation.

Our teacher pulls up her phone, and she just starts saying, run run run get outside.

Was this teacher experiencing so much panic that they had forgotten what to do in that situation? It's hard to judge what someone should do under those circumstances but this is exactly the opposite of what my child described in the drill he's been through. In a separate interview, a school official did confirm an "active shooter" protocol.

We have a system within our school with how to notify staff right away. Every student was kept safe until (the) police directed us otherwise.

Not speaking for every parent but if my son's school went through an actual active shooter situation, like the one reported by WIFR, and I found out his teacher told the kids to "run run run get outside," I would be livid.

  1. How does the teacher know there isn't a shooter outside of wherever they are.
  2. If students are advised run outside they could run off school property and become unaccounted for.
  3. Is there a mandatory protocol for all schools or did this teacher simply panic during dire circumstances?

Maybe I'm an over-concerned parent but these are valid questions to ask considering the crazy world our kids are growing up in.
