Inside a US training course to arm teachers

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Inside a US training course to arm teachers



By Aleem Maqbool BBC News, Ohio

7 December 2018


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This is how these scenarios unfolded.
Scenario 1: The active shooter

On a cold day deep in the southern Ohio countryside, I stood waiting outside a fake school building next to a teacher with a replica gun. He was nervous, waiting for the scenario to start, wondering what kind of situation he would have to deal with.

For security reasons, we are not allowed to name the teachers who might go back to their classrooms armed but this teacher was a softly-spoken school principal who felt he could not ask members of his staff to carry guns if he did not carry a weapon himself.

"Our school is in a rural area, police officers could take anywhere from 15-20 minutes to get to us and in a school shooting it's over and done with by then," the head teacher said, explaining why he felt compelled to apply to carry a gun.

"Scenario start!" shouted one of the trainers and we ran into the "school" together.

A woman ran past us screaming that something terrible was happening down the corridor where we could hear shouting. Further on, the teacher I'd spoken to outside had his gun raised out in front of him.

Suddenly, two "children" ran out of a classroom shouting.

"Click, click"

In the stress of this fake situation, the teacher had accidentally shot both of the innocent "students".

He then went on and entered the classroom, identified the attacker and within a matter of seconds "killed" him too.

After the exercise, I put it to Joe Eaton who ran the course that this could happen for real and innocent students could be killed.


"There is nothing that is 100%," said Mr Eaton.......................................

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1. Link to full article

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-46473321