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serezniy / depositphotos Nashville – Another School Shooting But Elementary Precautions Not Taken; A Major Study Recommended Inexpensive Steps, But Most Schools Ignored
Nashville School Shooting
WASHINGTON D.C. (March 27, 2023) – There has been still another school shooting , this time in Nashville – the 5th in the city since 2011 – and although it is too early to tell, it is likely that many simple, inexpensive, and widely recommended precautions to protect against shooters on campus were not taken, says professor John Banzhaf.
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Early reports indicate that three children and three staff members were fatally shot.
Banzhaf, a former security officer and consultant, is the author of a worldwide study of school shootings published in University World News: how can schools tackle the threat of active shooters?
Based upon over 100 reports, and the conclusions of dozens of organizations and experts, the study recommends almost a dozen simple, easy, inexpensive, and proven-effective steps which schools can and should take to reduce the carnage which usually results from a shooter on campus.
And also to protect against the huge legal liability which usually results if such actions could have prevented - or at least reduced - the deaths and injuries which were caused.
Unfortunately, in the months since the study was published, and widely reported - for example 11 solutions to thwart school shootings - it appears that most schools have not taken even the most fundamental and widely recommended precautions.
For example, here's what many experts say about the vital need to have locks on classroom doors which are capable of being locked from the inside so a teacher does not have to venture into the hall where there is an active shooter prowling the halls. This is especially important because in no school shooting incident has a locked classroom door been breached.
Overlooked Precautions
The Sandy Hook Advisory Commission recommended that "all classrooms in K-12 schools should be equipped with locked doors that can be locked from the inside."
Likewise, the National Association of State Fire Marshals - which has frequently expressed concerns about children or even teachers not being able to escape in time in the event of a school fire, or of first responders not being able to reach people trapped inside.
Nevertheless strongly recommends that "to help protect teachers and students in the classroom, the classroom door should be lockable from inside the classroom without requiring the door to be opened."
The GUARDIAN has reported that "once a shooter is in a building, most security experts agree getting into a locked room is one of the most effective deterrents against getting injured or shot." Indeed, in no school shooting incident has a locked classroom door been breached, since the gunman doesn't want to waste time trying to force it open, and shooting a lock off is easier said than done.
Similarly USA TODAY advised that "security experts say locks go a long way toward keeping out danger. You have to think in terms of we've got to have the least amount of tragedy and the most amount of saving, and that may be this key situation, . . . Interior locks may have saved lives during a 2005 school shooting on the Red Lake Indian Reservation in Minnesota."
And the magazine CAMPUS SAFETY urged its readers that "it is vital for staff to be able to successfully secure classrooms from the inside to protect students from potential threats."
inside higher ed - Locking Out Danger *** Should college classroom doors have ability to lock from the inside?: "In general, doors that lock from the inside have been in place on college campuses for several years, said Jesus M. Villahermosa Jr., president of Crisis Reality Training, which advises organizations on handling emergencies. He said that while it is impossible to eliminate risk entirely, in his experience "locks absolutely work. People are able to secure themselves in rooms and shooters haven't been able to get to them."
abc news - Classroom Doors That Don't Lock Add to UCLA Shooting Scare : "Some students at UCLA were forced to create makeshift barricades because they were unable to lock classroom doors Wednesday when the school went into lockdown during an active-shooter situation. Beyond that, many of the doors opened outwardly, making it even more difficult to secure them against what was feared to be an active shooter."
ucla shooting renews concerns about classrooms with no locks: "Yet once an active shooter is in a building, most security experts agree getting into a locked room is one of the most effective deterrents against getting injured or shot.
"How many deaths would it have taken for us to address this issue more seriously?" said Jesus Villahermosa, president of Crisis Reality Training, noting that an assailant, knowing police are on the way, usually won't bother trying to access a locked room."