On September 13, 2024, my high school went into lockdown because two juveniles with airsoft guns threatened to “shoot up the school.”
ALICE protocols were activated.
For nearly an hour, we sat in silence, unsure if we would make it out alive.
This is not okay.
1/25.
ALICE protocols were activated.
For nearly an hour, we sat in silence, unsure if we would make it out alive.
This is not okay.
1/25.
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It’s a training system meant to guide students and staff during a school shooting.
But on September 13, it became painfully clear: ALICE isn’t a solution.
It’s damage control, and it failed us.
2/25.
Police quickly identified the suspects outside the building, but that didn’t stop the chaos.
ALICE was activated, leaving students and parents in fear of the worst.
3/25.
The school district’s systems went down.
Teachers and staff were left to rely on rumors.
Parents were texting students for updates because no one—no one—was officially informed about what was happening until much later.
4/25.
Our teacher tried to reassure us, but we all knew what was at stake.
We didn’t know it was a false alarm.
For 45 minutes, we prepared ourselves for the possibility of gunshots.
5/25.
Some were frozen in fear.
No drill, no ALICE training, prepares you for the raw terror of wondering if your classroom door will be the next one opened by a shooter.
6/25.
Their “guns” were airsoft replicas, but no one inside the building knew that.
For us, it was real.
And the trauma doesn’t just disappear because the threat was fake.
7/25.
MEANINGFUL POLICIES !
But NRA pays too much for that to happen.