The U.S. has had enough school shootings in recent history to last a lifetime. Schools know the drill by now – don’t let strangers into the school. More importantly, if you see strangers with guns, you most certainly don’t let them in.
However, in Cleveland, Ohio, high school assistant principals decided to ignore all of what they were taught about school safety. They were afraid that four armed teenagers were going to get harmed by the police.
Yes, you read that right. Rather than being afraid of the armed teenagers, they found that the bigger threat was the police.
An investigation is still pending about what happened at Garret Morgan High School last month. Security officers at the school found four armed teenagers with masks approaching the school. They called 911 and emphasized that the suspects should not be let inside.
The dispatcher even provided the necessary instruction – “Keep the school locked down.”
Several people were yelling “Don’t let ‘em in the building!”
Two high school principals allegedly opened the doors to the school – in the middle of the lockdown 0 for the masked teenagers with guns to enter.
The reasoning? At least three of the suspects appeared to be black and police had arrived on the scene.
Umm, so who are the bad guys in this situation?
Most would say that those with guns trying to enter a school are the bad guys, regardless of skin color. The police were there to ensure that the teens were apprehended while keeping everyone in the school safe.
Yet, the actions of the assistant principals put everyone in danger.
One of the APs tried to explain why such actions were taken. “I confirmed the interior doors were locked and instructed the four suspects to come to the vestibule because it was unsafe to be outside because I saw police officers.”
Since when are the police officers what makes it unsafe? If the school is on lockdown, it must be in actual lockdown – not opening the doors for the actual people who are creating the unsafe environment.
While the suspects were unable to enter the rest of the school, they were one step closer. If they had decided to open fire, the vestibule likely wouldn’t have held them for long.
The design of most schools is to allow the front doors to be open. Then, visitors enter the vestibule and have to be buzzed in so that they can enter the front office. During a lockdown, however, all doors are locked – and no one is allowed in or out. Clearly, the two APs in Cleveland didn’t get that memo.
It is believed that the suspects arrived at the school in a total of three stolen vehicles. Three of the four were apprehended – and two were even sent home on their own recognizance. The third was taken into custody as a result of another case.
It’s easy to look at this situation and determine that the APs should NOT have allowed the gunmen into the school, whether it was simply a vestibule or not.
Yet, the Cleveland Metropolitan School District is standing by the administrators.
The district released a statement saying “Cleveland police had already arrived on the scene and were able to make arrests. The staff member made a split-second decision that the individual thought was the best way to keep students and staff safe.”
Apparently, a liberal’s definition of keeping everyone safe is very different than what most parents would accept.
