MHS Shooting Threat on Sept. 19th Presents a Need for Conscientiousness

Written by Fiona Lee

About a month ago in Middletown High, a school shooting threat for September 19th was found written in the middle school bathroom. It was proven empty, as are many threats of this nature, so students and staff were able to go home safe that day. However, combining the frequently tragic shootings within American schools with the continuously presented lack of emergency preparedness of Middletown High, many community members have decided they did not feel as safe after all. 

To begin, the threat behind this incident was addressed only a little over 24 hours before the claimed day of the shooting, despite the writing being present for several days beforehand. The superintendent deemed it "not credible" in the Parent Square announcement, stating that school would proceed as usual with law enforcement in the area. However, one would expect that “proceeding as usual” would also include taking the standard precautions for threats of mass violence like this, such as locking classroom doors and scarcely offering hall passes. While some teachers did choose to perform these measures, none of the procedures were put in order by the administration. 

One teacher who made sure to maximize safety precautions for students on September 19th was computer teacher Adam Evans. He explains how he believed that the motives of the administration were to place their own benefits and peace over the security of students and staff, given that the instructions staff were given were “minimal at best, not following proper guidelines". After discussing the almost secretive approach the administration had on the incident, Evans states, “The only response we had at the end from our district team was that ‘the impact wasn’t as bad as they thought it would be against our attendance,’ which tells you everything you need to know about what they were worried about: attendance.” 

Additionally, while the announcement implied that police officers were closely monitoring the situation, this reality is debatable. 12th grader Len Rivas agrees with this and recalls, “There were no officers on campus, which made sense, but [my friend and I] also saw no police cars. I walked further and saw no cars on the exterior either.” Mr. Evans stated the same thing as Len; he saw no signs of law enforcement. No bags were being checked, no officers were spotted nearby, and students had virtually no way of knowing that police would even be attentive at all, given the already minimal amount of officers in the entirety of Lake County. Considering how our school lacks security guards, individuals were essentially granted no sense of personal safety on this day at MHS.

Lake County Patrol Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV), usually spotted on or near campus during safety threats. Source: Lake County, CA Photo Gallery

To summarize, no safety measures of satisfactory nature-- or even of the bare minimum-- were taken on behalf of MHS administration on September 19th. Understandably, we are all beyond grateful every day we come home safe from American schools, as MHS students were on this day. However, given this notorious reality of insecurity in American education, many agree that you can never be too cautious in situations like these. Students are always encouraged to speak up when they feel unsafe or unseen in times like these, and administrators are encouraged to prioritize safety and wellbeing over profit and fabricated peace.