By Christine Dempsey
New Haven Register, Conn.
MANCHESTER, Conn. — After a teenager walked onto school grounds this week and pointed a fake long gun at children, some of whom were out on the playground, educators around Connecticut are thinking about how they would handle such a situation, a school safety expert said.
The 17-year-old never fired what turned out to be an airsoft rifle or pellet gun, and looked like an assault weapon. The teen, whose name was not released because he is a juvenile, was arrested on numerous charges.
While most schools have procedures and hardware — such as door locks — in place to stop or slow an active shooter in a school building, it’s hard to protect students out on a playground.
“I guarantee you, schools across the state now are table-topping this kind of scenario,” said Amery E. Bernhardt, director of the Center for School Safety and Crisis Preparation at Western Connecticut State University. “They’re doing their own assessment of their protocol based on this scenario.”
“You’re going to have people who want fences and walls,” he said. “It becomes difficult when emotion gets involved.”
The school where the teen showed up Monday wearing black and carrying a black rifle, Verplanck Elementary School, has a fence around its playground, but it’s not a tall security fence, said Max Cohen, school safety coordinator for Manchester Public Schools. It’s designed to keep children from wandering too far, he said.
The teenager had to put down the gun to open the gate, which is not meant to be locked; one also can jump over the fence, said Cohen, a retired Manchester police detective.
“When you’re outside, you’re very vulnerable,” he said. “What are you going to do, put up big walls? It’s not a prison, it’s a school.”
Rather than trying to build a fortress, educators should focus on training any adults outside with children to be aware of their surroundings, Cohen said. The staff at Verplanck did a good job of being observant, noting the person with the gun and getting the children inside quickly, he said.
“Everybody did as they were trained to do,” he said.
Surveillance video released by the Manchester Police Department shows a staff member holding open a door for two children and gesturing for them to come inside. The young students ran through the open door, which then closed.
After a long pause, a dark figure approached, peered through the glass door and slammed the gun, muzzle first, against it. He didn’t try to open the door.
He then pointed the gun inside the school.
In all, the teen pointed the gun at 29 students and 10 adults, police said, some of whom were outside — without a wall or window separating them from the gun.
When police put handcuffs on him, he said, “This was supposed to be a suicide by cop,” according to an officer’s body-camera footage.
Cohen said he knows firsthand that the staff members who take students out for recess at Verplanck tend to be alert for stranger danger.
Once, more than a year ago, he visited the school, using the same route the teenager did, and “I was immediately confronted by three women,” he said. “They blocked me.”
Cohen showed them his badge and they still didn’t let him into the school until they confirmed that he was expected by using their portable radios.
“We call it politely assertive,” he said. “I commended them.”
Of course, it would be better to not have to respond to a despondent person with a gun in the first place, Bernhardt said.
If someone wants to end their life, there is the 211 hotline or the newer national 988 line people can call for help.
“If somebody is troubled, there are plenty of resources available to try to get that person help,” he said.
Anyone who has thoughts of harming themselves, or seeks access to free and confidential mental health support, can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 or 800-273-8255 (en Español: 888-628-9454; Deaf and Hard of Hearing dial 711 and then 988) or visit 988Lifeline.org.
People in need can also text the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741.
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