Video: Shooting Drill Held at West Lowndes High School

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LOWNDES COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – With the recent shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut, school officials across America are discussing new ways to make schools more safe.

Pearl, Columbine, and Sandy Hook. School shootings have shocked the nation. West Lowndes High School held a shooting drill to make sure teachers know what to do when an armed intruder enters the campus.

“We wanted to give our teachers a first hand view of what might happen and how to react to that so they would be prepared,” says West Lowndes High School Principal Charles Jackson .

Lieutenant Larry Swearingen of the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Department conducted the drill and introduced new tactics.

“The way they lock down the rooms, we want to change that up just a little bit not only for their safety but for the officers safety that’s responding to the scene,” says Swearingen.

Deputies set up a mock intrusion and hostage situation using simulated plastic guns and bullets as teachers looked on.

Principal Jackson says this drill has been in the works for the past few years.  Lieutenant Swearingen  says now, more than ever, is the perfect time to focus on making parents, students and teachers feel safe.

“We want to provide the best measures we can to protect our children that are in schools along with our teachers, where everybody can be safer and hopefully draw these things to a conclusion a lot quicker,” says Swearingen.

The drill also included a question and answer session for teachers to fully understand the procedure.

Students were dismissed early and were not a part of this drill.