School Defends Drill That Had Police Busting Into a Classroom With Weapons Drawn, Terrifying Students and Parents

Liz Klimas
The Blaze
Nov. 14, 2014

Florida parents and students were frightened by an unannounced active shooter drill that took place at a middle school Thursday, but officials and police defend not giving prior warning.

“We actually thought that someone was going to come in there and kill us,” Lauren Marionneaux, a seventh grade student at Jewett Middle Academy, told WTVT-TV.

The news station reported that two police officers, one armed with an AR-15, rushed into Lauren’s classroom during the drill.

“I’m panicking because I’m thinking that it’s a legitimate shooter [...] coming, that something bad is happening at the school,” said Stacy Ray, Lauren’s mother who got a text from her daughter that read “I thought he was going to shoot me,” according to WTVT.

It wasn’t until the “lockdown active shooter drill” was complete that parents were notified about it through an email. Polk County Schools spokesman Jason Geary told WTVT the drill was handled according to standard protocols.

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