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News
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School Shootings
Jack Murphy &
Mikayla Knight
Staff Writers
School shootings
have become a
frequent occurrence
since the 1999 Columbine High School
massacre. Notable
instances since include, but are not
limited to, Virginia
Tech in 2007, Sandy
Hook Elementary
School in 2012.
The most recent
school shooting occurred this month, on
Apr. 13 at a community college in North
Carolina.
Over the years
people have tried
to comprehend and
interpret why events
like this happen and
why they have become more frequent.
After Columbine,
people blamed the
media for violent images. Now, people
have drawn the
conclusion to one
problem: gun control. However, there
has been little attention towards mental
health of the shooters.
Recently in California, many schools
experienced bomb
threats. In March,
all schools in San
Juan Capistrano,
Dana Point, and San
Clemente were put
on lockdown after
the sheriff’s office
received phone
calls claiming there
was a bomb on the
San Clemente High
School campus (CBS
LA).
The only way for
schools to take action in the event of a
threat or intruder is to
prepare. For example, after the Sandy
Hook shootings in
2012, OCSA staff
began locking doors
during class times.
Additionally, Mater
Dei High School in
Santa Ana requires
all students and staff
to wear lanyards with
photo identification.
Students may perceive safety drills as
tedious, similar to
how they think of
algebra. However,
the reality is simple:
Given their frequency, knowing what to
do in the event of a
school shooting is just
as important today
as a common knowledge of basic algebra.
SPRING 2015
Under Siege
cont’d from pg. 1
Students flee in the mock safety event.
Photo by: Kate Fahey
the building to
track down the
“shooter”. After initially gaining entry
to the main tower,
a second wave of
officers received
information from the
second sergeant in
command before
searching classrooms
for the suspected
threat.
Once the second
and third floors were
deemed “clear of
any potential harm,”
students hiding in
those classrooms
were escorted out of
the building with their
hands up.
While the officers
searched the buildings and brought
students to safety,
the EMTs rushed to
Allcorn to treat him.
Allcorn said, “The
neat thing about the
simulated shooting
was the fact that
by doing what we
would in a real-life
scenario, we learned
how to properly act,
and the cops in turn
got some formal
training.”
The simulation
came to a close
when the “gunman,”
a police officer
named Ray Sandoval, was found and
apprehended on the
third floor. Law enforcement gathered
together to discuss
how the simulation
went, giving each
other tips for how to
improve in the case
of a real life lockdown.