#schoolsafety gatekeepers

Bad things sometimes happen at schools. This was the case at Northern California’s Rancho Tehama Elementary School on the morning of November 14, 2017. A killer armed with an assault rifle, two hand guns, and a lot of ammunition crashed his stolen pickup truck through the bus gate on the school’s perimeter fence. He’d already shot and killed some of his neighbors in the nearby Rancho Tehama Reserve. Police were on their way by the time the killer intentionally crashed the truck through the gate, so he had nothing to lose at that point. He knew he was going to die that day, but he made the decision to kill innocent children inside the school before he did. We’ve seen this before, and we’ll see it again.

The pickup truck was the killers primary weapon when he got to the school, but infrastructure target hardening in the form of perimeter fencing prevented him from driving all the way onto the campus. Like we’ve seen with other recent vehicle attacks, the killer exited the truck and went to his secondary weapon, which in this case was his assault rifle. The killer began spraying the school with deadly rounds, firing through classroom windows in an attempt to kill students and staff hiding inside the school. Video from the school’s exterior cameras show the killer trying several times to get inside of the school to continue his deadly rampage, but he couldn’t gain entry because the school was in lockdown. The killer became frustrated with his attempts to get inside the school, and he was walking away when some brave law enforcement officers showed up and did what they were trained to do. The killer died that day, but he never got inside the school.

In a television interview later that day, Tehama County Assistant Sheriff Phil Johnson credited the quick thinking of school staff with saving the lives of the students and staff members inside the school. It appears the staff took action as soon as shots were heard in the area of the school and went into lockdown before the killer ever got there. When the killer crashed his truck into the school’s fence, the children were already brought inside of the school and were safely behind locked doors. Two children were injured during the shooting, but one can only imagine the carnage that would have occurred if this killer made it inside the school with three weapons and hundreds of rounds of ammunition. The staff at the Rancho Tehama Elementary School had a plan, and they obviously trained in that plan. They didn’t wait for law enforcement to call them and put them into lockdown. They put their plan into action at the first sign of danger, and this is how we train. Planning and training save lives.

I do not know the staff of the Rancho Tehama Elementary School and have never trained with them. I do recognize the results of effective planning and training, and I consider these individuals heroes for saving the lives of the children in their charge. They are what we refer to as “Gatekeepers,” and I want to take a moment to thank them for their efforts. As a tactical responder, I can’t think of any more effective way to end a violent Active Assailant encounter such as this than by having the children safe inside the school and the killer isolated outside the school so we can do what we’re trained to do to end the attack.

The killer in this case had prior arrests for domestic violence and had been treated for various mental disorders. Why he was able to have firearms in the first place is up to someone else to investigate. Likewise, overlooking the indicators of violence the killer exhibited during the days leading to these killings should also be looked at. I’m sure law enforcement will be investigating both of those issues. The important thing here is all the children who were inside of that school are alive today while these issues are being investigated.

Those of us in education have no control over gun laws and mental health issues for persons outside of our schools. But we have total control over things like infrastructure target hardening, emergency response planning, warrior mindset, and the training that is an integral part of keeping our students and staff safe during a manmade or natural hazard. Bad things sometimes happen at schools, and they will continue to happen. If it’s predictable, then it’s preventable. This was the case on November 14, 2017 at the Rancho Tehama Elementary School, and it can be the case if a bad thing comes to your school. “Prepare Today to Survive Tomorrow” is more than just a catch phrase on our website. It’s how we train, how we live, and what we believe in.

Stay safe Gatekeepers…