Executive Viewpoint

Safety Must Be Our Number One Priority

Dr. Mike Hernandez, AAEA Executive Director

The story below may be harrowing, and most of you may remember the incident. I apologize for the details, but I promise there is an important point.

On Valentine's Day in 2018, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, witnessed the deadliest high school shooting in U.S. history, killing fourteen students and three staff members. The murderer, a former student, gained access to the school through an unlocked and unstaffed gate. Once inside building 1200, he unleashed a hail of bullets down hallways and into classrooms through classroom door windows, resulting in the deaths of eleven individuals and injuring thirteen within the first 2 minutes and 8 seconds on the first floor. Moving to the second floor, he fired shots but did not hit anyone before proceeding to the third floor, where he claimed six more lives and injured four more individuals in the final 1 minute and 12 seconds of the attack.

Before leaving the building, the murderer shot through the faculty lounge window and reached in to open the door. He then set up a bipod to stabilize his weapon, reloaded, and began shooting at fleeing students outside, adopting a sniper-like approach. Fortunately, hurricane impact-resistant glass in the windows prevented the death toll from escalating.

Just six minutes after entering the building at 2:27 pm, the murderer abandoned his rifle in another stairwell and exited the school, attempting to blend in with the students evacuating due to the fire alarm initiated by the gunfire. He successfully left the campus and went to a Subway restaurant to get an ICEE before eventually heading to a McDonald's.

Below is a chronological timeline of the methodically planned massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School:

• 2:19 pm - An Uber dropped off the murderer at the front of MSD with his AR-15 concealed in a guitar case.

• 2:21 pm - The murderer entered building 12. The murderer NEVER entered any of the classrooms. He shot people in the hallways and through the classroom door windows.

• 2:23 pm - A school resource officer arrived at the front of the building. He never entered the building on the day of the massacre and remained outside for the next 48 minutes.

• 2:27 pm - The murderer escaped the building.

• 2:32 pm - Law enforcement entered the building.

• 3:37 pm - The murderer was apprehended.

You may now be asking why I am rehashing all this. Recently, at the request of one of the victim's parents, I had the honor of attending an event along with approximately 200 other school administrators and law enforcement officers from all over the country. This event was organized by one of the victim's parents, Max Schachter. Honestly, when I received the invitation, I was not thrilled about going at all. The invitation included a verbal description of what the event would entail. The part that gave me a queasy feeling was that we would walk through building 1200. This is where the horrific event occurred. The building has been sealed since that day. Only the jury and parents have been through the facility since Valentine's Day 2018. All of the carnage and DNA were still in place, just like the day it happened. However, after a late-night phone call from Max, I was convinced that I wanted to support the parents and school personnel who dealt with the trauma and were trying to ensure that this did not happen to others.

Several people out there will tell you we need more mental health resources in the school or gun control. This article is not about those things, but everything should be reviewed and considered. This article concerns awareness and ensuring school leaders and staff do everything possible to ensure safety. In Arkansas, we have some great things in place. Most of these are devised from lessons learned from school shootings like Parkland and Uvalde.

We started with a gathering in the school gymnasium. Our group consisted of approximately 25-30 people from all over the U.S. The day was set up for groups to enter the area during specific scheduled times. We received a briefing from several individuals that included Max Schachter and staff from the Broward County State Attorneys' office. The briefing described what we were about to do, which was to walk through building 1200. The route would mirror the killer's path as he traveled through the building. I realized why we had the water and mints given as we entered the gym. The campus was like any typical campus, with water fountains, big courtyards, and championship banners hung all over the gym. The only thing unusual was a large fence around a three-story building and a memorial in one of the courtyards. Other than that, it was a Saturday on any campus in America.

We entered the building on the first floor. You could still see the police tape that sealed the door many years ago. As we entered the hallway, the glass from multiple shattered windows crunched under our feet. I heard one of our guides start talking, but I was fixated on a box of donuts on the floor with holes shot in it and a stepped-on Valentine's Day card. I had to lean against the wall for a second to get my bearings before I could focus on what was being said. Most of the glass on the floor was not shot out but broken out by the law enforcement people who went from room to room trying to clear the building after the shooting. The shooter never opened a classroom door but shot through the vision panel that was in each door. We walked into the first classroom where students lost their lives. I could see February 14, 2018, marked on the board and an English class bell ringer. The class was left the same as it was that day. The significant difference was overturned desks, bullet holes, and dried DNA from where the individuals were shot. We were told that many did not know to go to a "hard corner" where it was harder to be shot by someone outside the door. The group continued down the first-floor hallway, seeing much of the same terrible sights we saw in room 1214. I saw a quote on the wall that said, "For every minute you are angry, you lose 60 seconds of happiness." I thought about how angry someone would be to do this much damage. The next stop was on the second floor of building 1200. Amazingly, there was no one injured on this floor. The theory is that the students heard the gunshots and had more time to take cover. There was a quote on the wall, too, that said, "Dream as if you'll live forever. Live as if you'll die today." The third floor was not so fortunate due to many believing that there was a fire drill. Many evacuated, but some students saw the first-floor massacre and ran back up to the third floor, where the shooter was heading. Our group was told that the shooter fired 139 rounds, killing 17 people and injuring another 17. We then went back to the first floor and exited the building. I finally felt like I could breathe again.

After the walkthrough, we went back to the gym to have a debrief. The debrief involved a few parents and spouses, including School Board Member Debra Hixson. Mrs. Hixon is the widow of Chris Hixon, the Athletic Director at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, who tragically lost his life on February 14, 2018, while trying to disarm the shooter. Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri was also there to answer questions. Following the school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School (MSDHS) in February 2018, Governor Rick Scott appointed Sheriff Gualtieri to serve as the chair of the MSDHS Public Safety Commission. The commission issued a 500-page report in January 2019 that resulted in significant improvements to school safety across Florida. I was still shocked because I had never experienced anything like this, but I could tell those in law enforcement were more at ease due to their past experiences. I had two main questions. What has changed in practice and policy? What change has had the most significant impact? The main ideas expressed were using threat assessment teams, mental health coordinators, single point of entry, and locked doors at all times.

In Arkansas, we have almost everything in place to prevent or mitigate a tragic event like this. That is the good news. The bad news is that it is tough to measure the fidelity of implementation. Many of us can quickly become overwhelmed with all the new items listed in the latest Arkansas School Safety Commission Report. After a while, you can become complacent with the work. Many of us know what we are being asked to do but may need to understand WHY we do it. I am now CRYSTAL CLEAR on why we must make school safety a number one priority. Please join me in remembering the victims and pledge to do what needs to be done to make certain our students and staff are safe at school.