After Michigan Killings, Students Praised Shooter Drills. But Do They Really Work?
The New York Times
Oxford High School held repeated trainings on how to handle a gunman in school. But some critics are questioning their purpose.
As a gunman opened fire at Oxford High School in Michigan on Tuesday, panicked students and teachers remembered their active shooter drills. They barricaded doors with desks and chairs. They covered windows and then huddled silently in corners or bathroom stalls. Some armed themselves with makeshift weapons like scissors and calculators. When a pathway looked clear, they ran.
The chilling choreography is practiced at the school several times per year, according to students. And some said it helped them survive a shooting that killed four teenagers and left several others in critical or serious condition. Students talked of having strategies at hand, even amid chaos.
“I think the training is helpful,” said Joyeux Times, a 16-year-old junior who was at school during the shooting. “It saved a lot of students’ lives.”
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