On the anniversary of Columbine my ninth grade year, there was a bomb threat at a neighboring school in our district — just four miles away. We were put on lockdown for the majority of the afternoon, and after that, drills like this became even more regular.
The school administration would come on the intercom and announce the lockdown drill. Teachers would have to turn off the lights, put paper over the door, and crouch all of us students in the safest corner of the room.
It was just a drill, but I remember always praying that I wasn’t in a classroom with a main level window.
But y’all, I was in my teens then. There are kids entering elementary school right now who will be experts in active shooter situations before the age of 10.
What’s worse is the thought of how many of these school shootings are executed by students. So as our kids are learning how to protect themselves from an active shooter, the active shooter could one day become their peer who knows all of the same drills.
March for Our Lives is working to change that. You can learn more about their efforts against gun violence here.