Vicksburg Daily News –
This week a string of schools across the country had to stress test their active shooter protocols. Some handle the situations well and with full transparency, and others… missed the mark. Thankfully, no threats were found to be active and America did not have to add another tragic tally-mark to an already long list of lives cut unnecessarily short.
Memes hinting at a school shooting were spreading like wildfire on teen-favorite social media platforms such as TikTok and Snapchat in the wake of Georgia’s school shooting on September 4. Since then, children as young as 11 have been arrested for making threats.
Before I continue, I want to be clear that according to all information available, the handling of the actual perceived threat of a school shooting at Warren Central Junior High School on Thursday were done by the numbers. The school was made aware of a threat, the Vicksburg Police Department were notified, a proper investigation was held, and authorities were able to confirm that no real active threat existed. The children were safe.
But then…
On Thursday afternoon, a post began to circulate on Facebook that a school shooting was supposed to happen at one of the junior highs, both of the junior highs, or both junior highs and elementary schools. In what was an understandably panicked game of telephone, parents were seeing their worst fears come to life: the looming threat of school shootings had not become a fear of if, but when.
Parents first official word on what they were already hearing rumors and whispers of was announced in a Facebook post made by the school district just after 5 p.m. on Thursday, well after the last bell had rung. That same information was then sent via the text alert system, with some parents receiving that information, for the first time, around 5:30 p.m.
The statement was vague and unclear. It began with claiming to “provide you with accurate information and dispel any rumors you may have heard,” and then proceeded to do no such thing. Two sentences, totaling 26 of the total 211 words (12%), were used to “provide you with accurate information and dispel any rumors you may have heard.”
“Today, the administration The Warren Central Junior High School received information regarding a potential safety threat. We have investigated and found no evidence supporting these rumors.”
And then, radio silence.
‘Delivered’
Since this statement was released after hours, parents were unable to contact the schools, nor the school district. No emergency contact phone number was provided in the statement to quell parents understandable outrage. VWSD demanded parents to trust their benevolence, and thus far, no additional statements have been made public. As we stated in out article published Friday morning, our attempts to reach out to the school district media liaison have been left on ‘delivered’.
Police Chief Penny Jones, thank you for providing a statement Friday morning that did the school district’s job for them. You clearly identified and explained the situation. You didn’t refer to it as a “potential safety threat,” you called it a school shooting. Officers and Deputies were seen at schools across the county to help put everyone’s minds at ease. Your department took the threat seriously, investigated the concern, and then informed the public. 10/10, no notes.
Now class, turn your pages to chapter 3 where we will go over how another school district on the same day handled their situation.
The same day…
On Thursday morning in Foley, Alabama, a Foley High School teacher overheard a student mention a weapon as students were changing classes and proceeded to put the school into lockdown. Throughout the morning, rumors had begun to spread that a fight had broken out and a gun was drawn.
In a statement reported by Al.com, Foley High School Principal Jessica Webb defended the teacher’s actions: “I don’t want to say the exact thing that the teacher overheard but what the teacher overheard they felt like they heard something that was about a weapon,” Webb said. “It was never the word gun. And it alarmed them enough to push their lockdown button.”
In an email sent by Webb the same day, the principal walked parents through the next steps:
“Our police department was on site within a matter of minutes. We have two School Resource Officers who immediately began implementing our lockdown procedure to secure students and staff in place. Within minutes we had a perimeter around the school with assault teams taking positions. I saw uniforms from the sheriff’s office and cities across Baldwin County. Our staff and students felt safe and supported throughout the process today.”
Within 20 minutes
In a letter written by the Baldwin County Superintendent Eddie Tyler released the same day of the incident (which should be read in full, it is a masterclass in transparency) he stated:
“Today we pushed out the first message to parents within 20 minutes of the school being placed on lockdown. This message notified parents that the school was secure and all students were safe. We notified them that an additional message would be pushed out within 90 minutes. During this time, there are several procedures taking place. The buildings and hallways have to be cleared. Students, staff and their belongings have to be inspected. Even after each person is accounted for, each one of those people has to then be cleared by law enforcement.”
After the school was cleared, students were dismissed at noon. Once the dismissal process was complete, a press conference was held at the school where more information was provided about what prompted the lockdown. The conference featured Webb, Foley Police Chief Thurston Bullock, and the Superintendent.
In Baldwin County Superintendent Eddie Tyler’s letter to the parents he spoke on the concerns that children must understand the ramifications of making threats. They are not cute and they cant be done ‘for the lolz’. These threats must always be taken seriously.
“What we don’t want to do is desensitize a very dangerous situation. We are blessed in Baldwin County that we don’t have many false alarms and we are very blessed we haven’t had any real threats. I would like to keep it that way,” said Tyler.
In Tyler’s statement he also addressed the parents. He acknowledged their fears and frustrations, but also made it clear that the school had a procedure, stating: “Our priority is to secure the perimeter, ensure the safety of the children and not allow anybody within that area until the all-clear has been given.”
Let’s recap:
- teacher had cause for concern
- initiated lock down protocol
- perimeter was secured and parents notified within 20 minutes
- within 90 minutes, students had been accounted for and all students had been interviewed
- children were released early
- press conference was held
- follow up information by Superintendent and Principal
The officials in Foley, Alabama put on a masterclass in transparency. They followed their procedure, kept the parents aware and up-to-date, isolated the source of the concern, and then followed up to the community with what happened. I would be curious to compare Friday’s attendance records for Baldwin County and Warren County.
Thursday’s SINGLE statement by the Vicksburg Warren School District was vague, public relations nonspeak that caused more harm than help. The bulk of the statement was spent on the tired trope of hand-waving away information shared on social media: the “don’t believe what you hear online.” We didn’t need a sermon, we wanted to know our children are safe in your hands. We also don’t want to hear of a potential threat after the fact. We expect better.
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