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Unannounced 'gun drill' creates panic at AZ School
Josey1
Member Posts: 9,598 ✭✭
Unannounced 'gun drill' creates panic at Chandler high school
Mel Mel?ndez and Senta Scarborough
The Arizona Republic
May 22, 2002 06:45:00
Dozens of Hamilton High School students and a handful of teachers thought they were in the middle of a Columbine-inspired school takeover Tuesday afternoon, when four students brandishing fake guns stormed the school.
"Don't make me do it!" screamed the gun-toting students, running through a school hallway as part of a law-enforcement class drill. Unaware of the exercise, teachers swiftly locked down classrooms to ensure the safety of their bewildered students. At least one teacher, Jean Wilhelm, frantically phoned the school's front desk staff, who knew nothing of the drill, school officials said.
"Those teachers and kids were in a panic because they thought this was real," said Peggy Donahue, whose son attends the school. "How could the school think it's acceptable to have kids running through the halls with guns? You have fire drills without smoke, so can't they teach safety without guns? I'm most upset."
Officer Emma Bribiescas, a spokeswoman for Chandler Police, said school administrators approved the fake-gun drill, a routine part of most law-enforcement training classes. School administrators should have informed teachers and students of the drill, she said.
School officials said they didn't know of the drill, which lasted less than 10 minutes.
"Had we known about the fake guns we would've killed this exercise immediately," said Assistant Principal Dave Constance. "This is not an appropriate way to teach school safety."
About 25 students at Hamilton High and another 25 at Chandler High annually take police-science classes taught by Officer Andy McIlveen, said Mike Desper, the school district's director of secondary education.
The 23,000-student school district will now confine "realistic" drills of life-threatening scenarios to non-school hours.
"We told the police today we want these done on weekends or at a police range," Desper said. "Because something like this could prove traumatic or dangerous."
Hamilton High offered counseling sessions to the students and teachers who witnessed the scene.
One Hamilton High student recounted the harrowing experience on condition of anonymity because school officials told students not to speak of the incident, he said.
Terry Locke, a spokesman for the district, refuted that allegation.
"I can't imagine any school telling students that," Locke said. "We don't have any authorization to impose a gag order on students."
It seems unlikely that similar exercises will take place in the near future.
"It's safe to say we won't have exercises of this type on any of our campuses during regular school hours," Desper said. "No way."
Reach the reporter at mel.melendez@arizonarepublic.com or (602) 444-7758.
Reach the reporter at senta.scarborough@arizonarepublic.com or (602) 444-7937.
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0522Columbine-ON.html
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
Mel Mel?ndez and Senta Scarborough
The Arizona Republic
May 22, 2002 06:45:00
Dozens of Hamilton High School students and a handful of teachers thought they were in the middle of a Columbine-inspired school takeover Tuesday afternoon, when four students brandishing fake guns stormed the school.
"Don't make me do it!" screamed the gun-toting students, running through a school hallway as part of a law-enforcement class drill. Unaware of the exercise, teachers swiftly locked down classrooms to ensure the safety of their bewildered students. At least one teacher, Jean Wilhelm, frantically phoned the school's front desk staff, who knew nothing of the drill, school officials said.
"Those teachers and kids were in a panic because they thought this was real," said Peggy Donahue, whose son attends the school. "How could the school think it's acceptable to have kids running through the halls with guns? You have fire drills without smoke, so can't they teach safety without guns? I'm most upset."
Officer Emma Bribiescas, a spokeswoman for Chandler Police, said school administrators approved the fake-gun drill, a routine part of most law-enforcement training classes. School administrators should have informed teachers and students of the drill, she said.
School officials said they didn't know of the drill, which lasted less than 10 minutes.
"Had we known about the fake guns we would've killed this exercise immediately," said Assistant Principal Dave Constance. "This is not an appropriate way to teach school safety."
About 25 students at Hamilton High and another 25 at Chandler High annually take police-science classes taught by Officer Andy McIlveen, said Mike Desper, the school district's director of secondary education.
The 23,000-student school district will now confine "realistic" drills of life-threatening scenarios to non-school hours.
"We told the police today we want these done on weekends or at a police range," Desper said. "Because something like this could prove traumatic or dangerous."
Hamilton High offered counseling sessions to the students and teachers who witnessed the scene.
One Hamilton High student recounted the harrowing experience on condition of anonymity because school officials told students not to speak of the incident, he said.
Terry Locke, a spokesman for the district, refuted that allegation.
"I can't imagine any school telling students that," Locke said. "We don't have any authorization to impose a gag order on students."
It seems unlikely that similar exercises will take place in the near future.
"It's safe to say we won't have exercises of this type on any of our campuses during regular school hours," Desper said. "No way."
Reach the reporter at mel.melendez@arizonarepublic.com or (602) 444-7758.
Reach the reporter at senta.scarborough@arizonarepublic.com or (602) 444-7937.
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0522Columbine-ON.html
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
Comments
UN EFFEN BELIEVABLE!!!!
Mudge the incredulous
I can't come to work today. The voices said, STAY HOME AND CLEAN THE GUNS!
Unbelievable.
This further brings home the point I was making about teacher's pay......the idiot who came up with this idea probably wouldn't have made it in the "real world".
The pay in AZ for teachers is just sickening......we are 47th (I think....somewhere in the lower 10 states) from the top in teacher salaries.
Merc
NO! You may not have my guns! Now go crawl back into your hole!
****************************************
"Tolerating things you may not necessarily like is part of being free" - Larry Flynt
Mudge the hopeful
I can't come to work today. The voices said, STAY HOME AND CLEAN THE GUNS!
**I love the smell of Hoppes #9 in the morning**
-Charlie
"It's the stuff dreams are made of Angel"NRA Certified Firearms InstructorMember: GOA, RKBA, NJSPBA, NJ area rep for the 2ndAMPD. njretcop@copmail.com
SSG idsman75, U.S. ARMY