Heavily armed deputies and lieutenants stormed the scene, guns drawn and with gas masks. Make-up artists from Disneyland came and prepared victims with fake blood to make the injuries as life-like as possible. More than a hundred rounds were fired in the first stage of the drill. To prevent panic, neighbors were notified prior to the operation that there would be loud firearm noises around the area.
Some students at nearby Whitney High School think that drills like the one at Gahr could be useful.
Joshua Chen, a freshman at Whitney, told JSR, "I think that this type of drill really prepares us for what could happen. With the recent rise in school-related violence, I think that this type of preparation of the students will engage a more realistic type of response and practice for the future."
"This kind of simulation is better than just the usual drills we have," Gokhale told JSR. "Most people during drills just go under the tables, giggling and talking loudly... This drill could really minimize that."
School shootings have been occurring in the United States since at least the 19th century, yet there has been an increase in mass shootings since the middle of the 1990s. The most lethal mass school shootings have been the 1999 massacre at Columbine High School in Colorado that left 15 dead and 21 injured, the 2007 Virginia Tech shooting that killed 33 and injured 25, and the December 2012 attack at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut that killed 28 people, including 20 first-graders, and injured two.
Other methods of improving safety have also been
introduced. Some have even advocated the arming of teachers or the hiring guards to protect classrooms. However, empowering students to make the right decisions in the face of a disaster may be the best solution.