This could be really scary for the young students. I know practice is important; why not start with a high school or middle school?

This ranks as one of the most ridiculous things I have ever read in my life. Let them use paintball guns with red paint too!

you got to be kiiding me!!!! Who came up with this stupid Idea!!

How stupid!

Are parents going to be notified AND those wanting to not expose their children to that, will they be allowed to keep their children home so as to not terrify them? Seriously who came up with this idea?

I heard the Decatur schools and the city police turned them down.

Why are you people so critical of this idea? I think we should praise the school system, police department and fire department for at least making an effort to train the students and school staff should an event occur. It never ceases to amaze me of how quick people criticize any action or no action. Some people aren't happy unless their unhappy. The military trains to be prepared. Someone once said " If ye are prepared ye shall not fear." It wasn't raining when Noah built the ark.

Let's support any effort to prepare!

This will traumatise students ! This is just not right for so very many reasons,put in the alarms ,panic button in every room but dont scare these kids this way,they are still fragile innocent children even if the world is so different from when we grew up in Hartselle when we didnt even lock our doors at night,please reconsider this before you do this ,and it causes harm that cant be reversed some if these kids will never want to go back to school if you scare them ,in a place where at this time they are leary of anyway at best.

If you don't want your children scared to death from this event, keep them out of school. I agree, start with older students, not young children. Yet another example of a knee jerk reaction. Stupid!

Perhaps the DD edited this story after it was first posted, but it clearly states that any parent can pickup their child from the school before the drill. So if you have a child who attends FE Burleson and you do not want them to participate in the drill then you can check them out. As long as it is obvious the person playing the role of the suspect is no real threat, as is suggested by the story, the kids will see this as nothing different than a tornado or fire drill. I would be concerned if their intent was to have a scary looking person run into the school with a cap gun or paintball gun or anything else that for a moment could cause a child to think the situation was real.

Gail, you obviously do not have children at F.E. Burleson. I do, and this is a terrible idea. After explaining the tragedy at Sandy Hook (because my child heard rumors at school) the best that we could, and having to send my scared little one to school was awful . He was terrified and full of anxiety. And now, just one month later we are talking about doing this intentionally. And yes, I will check my son out that day. Will it be an excused absence? Students don't get to make up work from an unexcused absence.

I think this is a great idea! If you are concerned then don't let your children take part, or better yet talk to them about what the exercise will be about and what to expect. KIds today are a lot tougher than we think, just look at the games they play, and movies they watch. Exercises like this have a way of finding problems that can not be found on paper drills.

I guess most are not old enough to remember the nuclear drills we went thru as kids. Put that on a 1st or 2nd graders mind.

Maybe better idea is a Saturday drill with volunteers only.

Maybe the gunmen can dress as clowns before they storm the elementary school (to keep from traumatizing the school children).

I am probably one of the biggest pro gun, pro 2nd ammendment advocate anyone would meet. With that said, this idea boderlines insanity.

In reality, for this to work properly, no one should know what day or time this suspected intruder will invade. Not even the cops,(except the one who is playing the bad guy) just to see how long it takes for police, fire and rescue, etc. to get there. To me, it would better be done with just the teachers and adult volunteers first, and then with the kids who want to participate. Better prepared than not. We used to be a nation of toughness, now we want everybody scared of everything...... Except God.

this is about the stupid thing i have ever herd of talk about freeking out some kids thats bs

this is about the stupid thing i have ever herd of talk about freeking out some kids thats bs

realy shot down achhol sales in hartselle and they want to do this???????????

THOSE WHO CONCURR WITH THIS METHOD OF TRAINING AND BEING PREPARED HAVE PROBABLY RAISED YOUR CHILDREN TO BE PREPARED FOR EMERGENCIES ETC--=-THOSE WHO FEAR THIS IDEA HAVE NOT AND PROBABLY LIVE IN A SHELL THEMSELVES ---AND THIS MODE IS WHAT MANY OF THE RISEING GENERATION WILL BE IN AND WHAT /WHO WILL FAIL THE TESTS WHEN ITS TIME TO TAKE AMERICA BACK. TODAYS SCHOOL CHILDREN WI;LL NOT PASS MUSTER WHEN IT CALLS FOR TRUE GRIT---COURAGE KNOWLEDGE SPUNK AND LACK OF WHAT TO DO OTHER THAN CALL MOM/DAD. AM I CALLING YOUR KIDFS SISSIES----YEP EXCEPT FOR THE EXCEPTIONALLY SHARP OBSERVERS ILL BET MOST KIDS TODAY KNOW LITTLE OF WAR---HUNGER--BEING POOR--AND HOW TO SURVIVE IN WHEN CIVIL WAR ERUPTS. IF THEY DONT LOOK IN A MIRROR AND SEE WHOSE FAULT IT IS. LAST 50-60 YEARS PROTECTING OUR CHILDREN AND A LIFE W/O STRIFE HAS BEEN WHAT THE SENIOR CITIZENS OF TODAY WANTED ---AND MANY STILL USED OR USE THE BOY SCOUT MOTTO---BE PREPARED--- WHICH IS WHAT THE SCHOOLS HAVING DRILLS IS TRYING TO DO---KEEP YOUR CHILD HOME WITH THEIR HEAD IN THE SAND ALONG WITH YOURS---THERTEFOR WHEN AN EMERGENCY HAPPENS---THEY CAN RETURN HEAD TO SAND AND SAY---NOT MY FAULT---I DIDNT KNOW--IM DEAD BUT YOU DIDNT TEACH ME. IF YOUR CHILD IS NOT AWARE OR PREPARED---AT LEAST THE SCHOOL TRIED.

OH AND SOME ARE CONCERNED THEIR CHILDREN WILL BE EXPOSED TO ---THAT--- WHAT ARE WE EXPOSEING THEM TO---I WOULD LOVE AN EXPLANATION HERE AS TO WHAT IS OTHER THAN A WORD OR FIGMENT OF THE WRITERS MIND. HEAVENS YOU COULD WIND YUP WITH A SMART KID ---AND A LIVE ONE WHO SURVIVED---I BET YOU DONT LIKE TORNADO SURVIVAL TNG EITHER ????WHAT S As

WAY TO GO HARTSELLE SCHOOL BECOME A LEADER AND AS YOU PROGRESS YOU WILL WONDER WHY THIS TRAINING WAS NOT PUT IN PLACE LONG BEFOR---AND THE MORE DRILLS---THE BETTER YOU GET---MAKE THEM AS REALISTIC AS BEFOR. YOUR IMAGINATION CAN HELP--PREPARE FOR THE WORST SCENARIO YOU CAN IMAGINE AND WHEN YOU GET IT DOWN PAT---MAYBE YOU WILL SUPPRESS A SMALLER ONE. GOOD LUCK AND POO ON THE CRYBABIES---DRILL DRILL DRILL KIDS LIVES COULD DEPEND ON IT---WHEN YOU FAIL-THOSE WHO SAY NAY WILL THEN WANT TO SUE YOU FOR NOT PROTECTEING THEIR BABIES. DRILL DRILL DRILL

IM STILL READING THIS GARBAGE---TRAUMATIZE---OH MY GOODNESS---BEING SHOT IN THE HEAD KINDA TRAUMATIZES A PERSON ALSOALSO DOESNT IT RICK??? I BET YOU TELL YOUR KIDS NOT TO WEAR SEAT BELTS AS THEY MIGHT BE TRAPPED UNDER WATER---OR DO YOU HAVE ANY CHILDREN//OR G KIDS---IF NOT U DONT COUNT OTHER THAN UH DONT KNOW HOW TO SPELL IN LARGE TYPE. ENJOY ANYWAY .

they were having one of these drills at another school right down the road from newtown the same day of the Sandy Hook shooting.........

Once again a mock active-shooter drill was being conducted at a nearby local school at the same time the realtime shooting was taking place at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut

I think this is a good idea. Children can be upset my lots of things but most of the time you will find that it is the parents that don't know how to handle it. We teach our children what to do if there is a tornado and as sad as it seems when they needed to be taught about stranger danger this to was handled at school. School is like any part of life it must change and cycle like life. It is horrible to think that this needs to be taught but I would rather have my child know what to do than to, than be sitting there not knowing which way to run. I have a child in K in Priceville but I know if the horrible Sandy Hook episode had happened here now we would be asking why weren't our children more prepare with what to do and then we would be trying to sue our school districts for not have had this kind of training in place.

Sounds like a good way for fake gun man to get killed...

I live in Athens - If I saw something like this, I would shoot first and ask questions later...

This kind of test can be done on a Saturday, with volunteer adults playing the role of children in classrooms. You don't have to involve real students at all in order to get meaningful feedback on a school's readiness.

I agree with Amy. That is an excellent idea. Start by using adults to play the children's roles. At least practice the drill with adults first especially since some of the parents are apprehensive about it. Perhaps if the parents knew what would happen during the drill they might be open to allowing their children to participate. There isn't an easy answer to all us. No one wants to subject their child to intentional anxiety and fear but no one wants for their child to end up dead either. We live in such a fearful society. We should all want to be better prepared for any potential threat to our children .... our families.

Consider all the pros and cons first. I know as a parent myself I want my child to come back to me safe and sound at the end of a school day so I can't imagine having to go through what Sandy Hook parents are going through right now. Bottom line: We all want our kids to come home.... safe and sound. Question: What would you do if this happened here in our town to our children. Would you be angry that our school systems did nothing to prevent such a tragedy? They are trying to be prepared...... like i said before NO Easy Answer...

Fire drills used to scare me to death as an elementary school student, and I almost always KNEW it was nothing more than a drill. Just the sound of the alarm bells and the sight of all of these people marching out of a building created a lot of anxiety. I can't see any good reason for escalating to an armed intruder drill with real children on campus. They already live in fear of some classmate going off the deep end and coming back with their uncle's stolen gun. Why play it out in real time, when the chances of it actually happening are miniscule in reality. It's like plane crashes-- we all start wondering how we can make planes safer or protect ourselves or whatever after a bad one, but thousands of flights take off and land without incident. Columbine and Virginia Tech and now Sandy Hook were alll bad things, but we can't afford to overcompensate out of fear. Stop strangers at the door and challenge them. Keep an eye on bullied or unstable students. Drill teachers on proper lockdown procedures. But don't turn our schools into armed camps because of the acts of a few seriously deranged people.

I don't think it is a good idea to do this first with elementary school students. You can tell them all day that it is not real, but they are still going to freak out. I use the "haunted house" philosophy as an example; you can tell a kid that the haunted house is fake and nobody is really getting hurt, but once that kid goes through the haunted house, that kid is going to have the crap scared out of them.

My question to school officials is why are the kids needed at all to do this the first time? This seems like something that needs adults only on hand during its first run through. The second question I have comes from my own military experience and that is how do they expect both teachers and adult to remember what they learn from one or two drills when real bullets start flying? I think you will learn that reality of the situation will cause more chaos than a couple of drills can overcome.

Most experts will tell you that the best thing to do is for the teacher to immediately lock their classroom door, or get to a room that can be locked quickly. Have some sort of code issued over the PA when it is not anticipated, in which the code will let teachers know means it is practice or when it is real, though odds are in a real situation the sound of a gun being fired will probably be enough to cause the doors to be locked without a code even being needed over the PA. Then, just shortly after the drill code is called, have a person(s) start walking the halls to make sure all doors are locked, as if what a gunman would do, thus eliminating the need for a fake gunmen during this drill, which I think is unnecessary. With this being done with warning, the person(s) walking the hall will be able to discover weaknesses in the system without the need for much fanfare that could scare the kids.

As for the first responder training, I am pretty sure they can do this with volunteers without the need for a school full of young children being involved. Just my two cents.

READING THE LAST FEW COMMENTS CONFIRMS WHAT MY CHILDREN ARE TELLING M-E--TODAYS KIDS BECAUSE OF PARENTAL PROTECTION ARE NOT SURVIVALIST AND SO THERE GOES THE FUTURE---POO POO ALL YOU WANT ---YOU READ ABOUT THE GIRL WHO DROPPED BEHIND A DESK DOOR WHATEVER AND PLAYED DEAD---HAD SOME TRAINING SOMEWHERE OR WAS EXPOSED---READ ABOUT THE YOUNG GIRL WHO RAN UPSTAIRS GOT HER COMPITITION SKEET GUN AND KILLED 2 ATTACKERS---HAD SOME TRAINING AND EXPOSURE TO A SHOTGUN----YOU FOLKS ARE THE PARENTS----PICK YOUR POISON---I REMEMBER WHEN SEAT BELTS WAS THE PROBLEM WITH THE PARENTS---THERE WERE SO MANY DAMNED EXCUSES FOR NOT WEARING BY PARENTS,IT WAS SICKENING.. I GUESS MOST OF THE PAREIF NTS ARE WUSSIES SO THERE GOES THE CHIDREN TO SLAUGHTER.---AS ONE SCHOOL OFFICIAL SAID ON TV---YOU DONT WANT US PROTECTING YOUR CHILD---THEN HOMESCHOOL AND TAKE OVER THE BURDEN YOURSELF.

My initial response is this is either a knee jerk response to a potentiality of statistical inconsequence, OR it is simply grandstanding to create exposure. After a little though, I propose we make it interesting. Lets give a couple of teachers or administrators, in random order, concealed carry weapons. Lets just find out how effectual armed response could be. If our "guys on the inside" bring down the shooter before the LEOs do...Imagine the headlines (well, on FOX, Piers Morgan would have nothing to say).

The reality of effectually training response teams for the myriad of potential variables would constitute an unjustifiable expenditure of resources, but if we use this as a conversation starter for arming staff, then I say, GAME ON!

I still say this kind of drill doesn't need to involve real students, since all they would be asked to do is stay in a locked classroom or possibly move to a safer location. Why force a third grader to even IMAGINE a man with a gun is in their school building? Don't they have enough on their plates already? What I imagine should happen during this drill is that someone near the front entrance will notice a person who clearly does not belong there. He or she should confront that person (hopefully outside the school) and ask them to state their business and prove it. If the person says he or she is a parent, then escort them to the front office and make them sign in. If they get squirelly, signal for a lockdown, call 911 and keep that person confined to a room until help arrives. Most people wouldn't get passed a locked front door with a buzzer system, and those who did should be directed straight to a room full of adults. I hope people here aren't hoping the armed intruder gets past all that and starts shooting in the hallways. Adam Lanza shot out the buzzer system and busted out a window to get in, so I'd call that cheating the system. He was already locked and loaded before he got near the entrance. Our imaginary shooter here would probably try to be a lot sneakier, posing as a parent or a delivery driver or something. This is not something children need to see taking place at their school, even if it is only a drill. Hartselle should rethink this idea-- I believe it was put out there more for certain parents and citizens than for the actual safety of the students.

William hit the CAPS lock button.....evidently you have it on or are you yelling through the computer?

Now that it's been advertised as a Fake gunman a Real one will show up first or second or well will we ever know when a real one or a fake one will come about.

I think the real reason they don't do this at a High School is because they are affraid a student may be carrying and actually kill the Fake Gunman.

William just a reminder that if you hold the contol key down while rolling your mouse scroll wheel it will change the font size on your computer.

Schools already practice lockdown drills throughout the school year. Schools can continue to practice these drills and educate our students regarding lockdown procedures without using a "mock" gunmen. I mean we don't use "mock" fire to practice our fire drills.

Go ahead and get the trauma counselors ready. A drill is a great idea, but fake gunman. Really??? This is a good way for someone to get shot. Maybe we can start a fire in the cafeteria as a part of the next fire drill or have someone do a drive by (fake bullets of course)

Well in the 60s we use to prepare for nuclear war in grammar school ..

This is ridiculous.

FOR THOSE ONLY CONCERNED WITH MY CAPS---IF I HADNT PUT IN CAPS YOU WOULDNT HAVE ANYTHING TO COMPLAIN ABOUT---A BAD KEYBOARD LITTLE FUNDING FOR BS THINGS I DONT WORRY ABOUT--( BIG DEAL TO SOME WHO DONT REALIZE THE REAL PROBLEM WE HAVE ) ALSO I LIKE TO SHOUT AS IM HARD OF HEARING AND I CAN SEE BETTER---PLUS ITS STILL AMERICA---OBAMAS GUSTAPO CREW HASNT BANNED TYPEING IN CAPS------YET. AND IF MY USEING CAPS IS ALL YOU HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT---PULL YOUR HEAD FROM WHEREVER YOU HAVE IT AND WAKE UP.

William, I agree, it is "a good way for someone to get shot." I am troubled by the realization that Hartselle's school board has people who think this is a good idea. I also wonder if a real gunman might decide to target the school knowing police will expect a "fake" gunman.

This idea is so dumb I think Charles Kirby must have come up with it.