On September 20th of last year, students and teachers alike arrived at school, with students directed to classrooms with teachers, and later evacuated to the track outside, due to an intruder alert at our school. The incident disrupted a normally celebratory Homecoming Friday and created confusion among students, staff, and parents and ultimately led to the cancellation of the Homecoming parade.
The two people that had been identified as intruders, were past students here at BBCHS. They had come here to the school on a bus, their intentions unknown. The moment they stepped inside, and staff were alerted to a potential threat, they were apprehended.
Sophie Johnston and Annabelle Ward, two students at BBCHS, explained that they were led by security staff out of the building. “A security guard was scanning the hallways and saw me and said, ‘Follow me’ and ‘Come with me now.’ He didn’t explain anything to me. We were told to wait across the street, waited at the crosswalk for a bit, and then we were told to go down that street [North Center Ave].”
What happened that morning was different for everyone; many students and staff hadn’t even arrived at school yet. Johnston explained that she had only just arrived at school when the incident began. What made people even more fearful that not knowing what was happening were the posts and different things made on social media. Johnston mentioned what she saw on social media, speaking about how there were heavy threats of violence and threats of a shooting.
BBCHS administration processed information as they got it and acted accordingly. Regarding the online threats of violence, BBCHS Assistant Principal Mr. Ryan Kemp said he did not see anything on social media regarding the threats of a shooting at BBCHS.
The uncertainty of the morning led many students to leave campus for the day, which led to low attendance and the cancellation of the parade. Adding more to the social media controversy, Ward expressed that on Facebook, the school seemed to be frustrated with the lack of attendance after the intruders were apprehended, saying, “… Clearly in their Facebook post they made about it, they made it clear like, ‘Oh, this is the students’ fault.’ Even parents said in the comments that they should upgrade security and that it wasn’t the students’ fault.”
Johnston stated that she saw students trying to leave the building since their parents came to get them after the scare of a lockdown, mentioning that some weren’t allowed to leave at first until there was additional information. Students were later allowed to leave with their parents’ consent.
When incidents with so many unknown and unpredictable elements occur, the procedures and communication of school leaders will come into question, and there are lessons to be learned. When asked about how administrators communicated with staff during this particular incident, Kemp responded by saying that they have an email system, and they used the P.A. system at that moment since it was a “unique time.” Kemp later mentioned that they now have a new texting system with staff.
When both students were asked about any further safety concerns or precautions, both suggested something similar, along the lines of “scanning your barcode when you walk inside,” comparable to how we scan our IDs when we sign out for OCL (Off-Campus Lunch).
Furthermore, the morning incident last year at BBCHS was an eye-opening experience to students and staff and sparked important conversations about how we can reflect more on how to protect ourselves and others alike.
