STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — When a gunman opened fire at Oxford High School in Michigan on Tuesday, students and teachers quickly remembered the active shooter drills that they had practiced at the school several times per year. But some critics are questioning if they are effective, according to a report by The New York Times.
Students and teachers at the school quickly barricaded doors with desks and chairs, covered windows, stayed silent in corners or bathroom stalls, while others armed themselves with scissors and calculators, according to the media outlet. Other students ran when they saw a clear path.
They used strategies they learned and practiced at the school during drills, and some said it helped them survive.
The gunman opened fire in a hallway, killed four people and injured several others, who are now in critical or serious condition. One of the school’s students, a 15-year-old, has been charged with murder and terrorism, according to The New York Times.
The Times reported that 95% of schools in the United States used the lockdown drills before the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, and criticism has grown over the last few years — and the shooting at the Michigan high school is a reminder that drills don’t prevent gun violence.
Nearly all American public schools participate in lockdown drills, but critics worry that the effects of these drills can harm the mental health of students while doing little to prevent the active shootings, according to The Times. The focus on “hardening” schools can take away from strategies that could prevent shootings from occurring, like stricter gun laws, better threat assessment, and more mental health counseling in schools, The New York Times reported.
However, most states across the country require safety drills.
The New York Times reported that Oxford High School used an active shooter drill, ALICE, which stands for “alert, lockdown, inform, counter and evacuate.” The drills place an emphasis on proactive strategies to evade a gunman when leaving the scene isn’t possible, according to the media outlet.
Chris Dorn, a consultant with Safe Havens International, a non-profit that helps schools improve security, explained to The Times that some strategies can be harmful. Students who armed themselves could make a perpetrator more likely to shoot, while barricading can increase noise and indicate to gunmen where people are hiding.
The best strategies to use in the event of an active shooter are to lock doors, turn off lights, hide out of sight lines, and ignore any door knocks or questions from outside the room, according to Jaclyn Schildkraut, a professor of criminal justice at the State University of New York at Oswego, as reported by The New York Times.
In New York State, the law requires that all public and non-public schools conduct four lockdown and eight evacuation drills each school year.
During a lockdown, schools in New York are advised to gather students from hallways and common areas near the classroom, close and lock the door, and barricade if necessary. Schools are also advised to move students to a safe area in the room out of sight of the door, to leave windows and blinds as they are, to keep everyone quiet and silence cell phones, and to not communicate through the door or answer the classroom phone.
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