LAVACA, Ark. -
The last day of classes for Lavaca High School was filled with the sounds of fake gunshots, as police and other emergency crews conducted a crisis drill at the school.
The drill was organized between the school and city police, with the Lavaca Fire Department, Sebastian County Sheriff's Office, and local EMS crews assisting. Police simulated a school shooting, with two deputies acting as "active shooters" and several students playing the parts of victims or scared bystanders.
"I was what they called a runner," said junior Rachel Newman, who had volunteered to be part of the drill. "We had to run down the hall and try to get in classrooms and just try to get away from it."
Rachel and the other students involved were given instructions before the simulation, and the school has a crisis plan in case such a shooting were to happen. But Rachel said all that changed when she heard the fake gunshots.
"It was nerve-wracking, like you know what you're supposed to do, but when you actually hear it, it's like, what was I really supposed to do?"
The training will help emergency crews get familiar with how each different group can work together. Meanwhile, Superintendent Jared Cleveland says they've already included plans for additional security cameras at their new high school, and spotted some holes in their crisis plan during Tuesday's drill.
"There are some things we learned today, some things I just learned from witnessing, that we're going to go over with our staff," he said.
The district hopes that drills like this one will help their students and community come to grips with the fact that a shooting could happen anywhere, even in Lavaca. That's something Rachel will be thinking about when she comes back to school in the fall.
"I'm definitely going to know where the exits are," she said.
The drill was organized between the school and city police, with the Lavaca Fire Department, Sebastian County Sheriff's Office, and local EMS crews assisting. Police simulated a school shooting, with two deputies acting as "active shooters" and several students playing the parts of victims or scared bystanders.
"I was what they called a runner," said junior Rachel Newman, who had volunteered to be part of the drill. "We had to run down the hall and try to get in classrooms and just try to get away from it."
Rachel and the other students involved were given instructions before the simulation, and the school has a crisis plan in case such a shooting were to happen. But Rachel said all that changed when she heard the fake gunshots.
"It was nerve-wracking, like you know what you're supposed to do, but when you actually hear it, it's like, what was I really supposed to do?"
The training will help emergency crews get familiar with how each different group can work together. Meanwhile, Superintendent Jared Cleveland says they've already included plans for additional security cameras at their new high school, and spotted some holes in their crisis plan during Tuesday's drill.
"There are some things we learned today, some things I just learned from witnessing, that we're going to go over with our staff," he said.
The district hopes that drills like this one will help their students and community come to grips with the fact that a shooting could happen anywhere, even in Lavaca. That's something Rachel will be thinking about when she comes back to school in the fall.
"I'm definitely going to know where the exits are," she said.
