On October 12th 2017 at around 3:20pm, there was a school lockdown. It was a Third Thursday so thankfully most students weren’t at the school, but some had afterschool activities such as eighth grader Paige Prather ‘22 who had dance practice with Whitney Young’s pre-professional dance company, Guys and Dolls for their long day Sunday October 15th dancing at Open House.

As she was getting out of dance and getting all of her things ready to leave the school to go home and start her normal evening routine, she heard principal Dr. Joyce Kenner yelling over the intercom, “GET AWAY FROM THE WINDOWS AND DOORS AND GO TO THE NEAREST SAFE CLASSROOM.” There was a man with a gun outside of the school threatening to shoot up the police academy.

Paige said that she was terrified, had trouble breathing, and felt helpless about what to do. The school did a great job of acting on the spot and getting all the students locked inside safely. This just goes to show how important it is to always have your school ID with you and to NEVER let anyone inside the building if you are walking past a door. We are all very grateful everyone is safe.