Students that were in the school followed safety protocols and hid under desks and in the corners of the classrooms just in case. The teachers took the appropriate actions in securing their classrooms and accounting for the students. Principal Motika sent out a Nixle alert to parents as well as an email letting them know of the situation and letting them know that all of the students were safe.
Multiple armed units entered the building in search of the suspect. They went classroom to classroom and finally found him in a classroom that was for an alternative program and had very few students in the room. Damian Johnson, 21, was arrested without incident. The lockdown was lifted around 9:30am.
During the lockdown there were frantic parents trying to get answers from the police department. They were trying to find their children and make sure they were okay which was completely understandable given the situation. However even though Principal Motika sent out the email and Nixle alert almost immediately parents were still complaining that they had been kept in the dark about the situation. They wanted their questions answered and no one was telling them anything at that moment. They wanted to know how he got into the building, how was he able to walk around without any of the staff noticing that he had a handgun tucked into his pants, and for some parents, why they didn't receive any notice that something was going on.
There was no handgun found, only a pellet gun and a hunting knife but the pellet gun looked very real. Principal Motika stated in a press conference after the lockdown was lifted that the front doors of the school have to remain unlocked in the morning until the last bell for the students to get into the school in the morning. They are locked when classes begin. Johnson came through the doors before 8am which means he entered the school with a student or group of students when they opened the doors. He stated that he was there to get a college recommendation from one of the teachers in the school however there is still question as to why he would need a knife and pellet gun to do so. He is currently being held on $20,000 bail and is facing a felony charge of falsifying physical evidence and criminal trespassing. He stuffed the gun and knife into a student's backpack so they would not find them on his person.
The teacher that he was there to see should be commended for her actions. She kept Johnson calm and made sure that she kept him engaged in a conversation and kept him where he was until the authorities entered the classroom.
This incident leads us as parents to ask how safe our schools really are? There are many who are questioning the actions of West High School staff and the PD after Thursday's events. Some think that so many units on the scene was overkill. Others think that not enough was done to communicate with parents of the students. Then there is the group that feels that the situation was handled effectively and ensured the safety of everyone involved.
How do you feel about the situation? Do you think that there is something more that schools should be doing to alert the public in a case like this or do you think that this incident was handled appropriately?
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