Alleged Gunman at My Son’s School

The first messages I “heard” about the situation Tuesday morning were that my son’s high school was on lockdown, a parent had spotted a man in a trench coat with a gun on campus, and the kids were up against the wall in the cafeteria. I put quotes around “heard” because it’s all a blur and I don’t really know what was actually texted, spoken on the phone with police, etc. The panic that took over left my cognitive capabilities seriously compromised.

One of the moms at the school Tuesday ⬇

For the next few minutes every part of my body shook as I sucked in huge gulps of air to try to catch my breath. I went back and forth between picturing horrendous execution scenarios and telling myself, “Everything’s going to be fine. This is not going to happen.” Then new and conflicting information came in. Now the story was that the gunman had actually been spotted off campus. Some suggested it could be a hoax by a student wanting to avoid finals. The voice saying it was all going to be okay got stronger.

I’ve always felt this way, but now I disagree even more adamantly with people who think giving kids (even young kids) cell phones isn’t a good idea. I can’t tell you what it meant to be able to receive and share updates with our son as he was forced to sit silently against the wall in the dark to hide from what we all thought was a potential shooter. More importantly, we made sure to say we loved each other, just in case.

I don’t mean to make this a tribute to social media, but I must say I’m more enamored with Facebook than ever. I was surprised by how difficult it was to get updates, with the exception of Facebook. For several hours the local TV news repeated a brief mention of the lockdown and possible gunman, with nothing new to report. Multiple calls to the police station provided little comfort with responses like, “There are a dozen units there and they have the situation under control. Whatever you do, do not go to the school.”

So I decided to post what was happening on Facebook, not for sympathy but for information. I shared what I knew and said if anyone had more information to please let me know. Immediately, the comments came in with helpful details. A dear long-time friend who is a news reporter checked the AP and her other sources, reassuring me that from everything she was seeing, she believed it was nothing. Something shifted and I could breathe normally again.

Then I decided to go to my son’s Facebook page to see what he was posting there. He was joking about what was happening and saying that everything would be fine because Batman was on his way to save them all. His friends, many of whom were in the dark cafeteria with him, were liking and responding with funny posts as well. Maybe it shouldn’t have, but this made me feel better. My son would later show me pictures other friends posted on Facebook of the awful pop up tents in the middle of their classes to be used as bathrooms. But they made light of it all, and I learned something from that. Maybe we really can choose our attitude no matter what.

If I had been thinking more clearly, I would have been on Twitter too. I was informed Tuesday night (in that teenage “duh” kind of way) that the name of the school had been trending during and after the lockdown because of all the tweets.

In the end, it was a mistake. There was no gunman and the mystery was solved. I feel a little happier than I did before all this because I was reminded that it is a blessing just to know that my kids are safe and healthy. I’m also very aware that it doesn’t always end this way. Terrible things do happen and my heart hurts for the parents who have felt the terror I experienced but didn’t get the happy ending we did. I know it’s corny, but please, please, please, make sure when your kids, spouse, or other loved ones walk out the door, you set aside any little disagreements you may have had and tell them you love them. Random hugs and kisses are strongly encouraged too. And everyone you love should have a cell phone and be on Facebook and Twitter!

Thanks for reading my story.

Patricia