Active Shooter Drill Takes Place

On Friday, September 20, the Okawville Jr. Sr. High School had a school shooter drill. Beginning at 1:30 p.m., students were sent through their regular schedule of classes, 1st hour- 7th hour. They had one minute to get from one class to another. Once they made it to their classes, Mrs. Hood, the secretary, made an announcement to let the students know that in 10 seconds, the guns would go off. A starter pistol and a shotgun loaded with blanks were used for this drill. No live ammunition was used, and no students were in the hallways during the firing. 

After the guns were fired, each teacher had 5 minutes to explain the four E’s… Educate, Evacuate, Evade, Engage and what could be done within that particular classroom. When the 5 minutes were up, the students would advance to their next class. The same procedure continued throughout the “daily schedule.”  Students were then dismissed to their homerooms to further discuss the drill. Administrators and law enforcement personnel were present to answer any questions that came up.  

Freshman Ellie Frederking and sophomore Sydney Tebbe were both asked “How did you feel about the situation, and how did the drill help you understand what to do if this would ever happen? Frederking’s response was, “This drill helped me realize what the shots actually sound like, and how you won’t expect what it sounds like if the situation would actually occur.” Tebbe said, ”The drill got us closer to realizing what could happen, but we’ll never really know unless it actually happens.”