Arts project prompts lockdown of high school

Paladin · Post by **Paladin** » Wed Sep 13, 2006 10:49 am

Now they lockdown a school after somebody sees an ROTC 'simulated' gun.

http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/15498653.htm

Arts project prompts lockdown of high school

Posted on Tue, Sep. 12,

ARLINGTON -- Summit High School in far south Arlington was under lockdown for about 45 minutes Monday after a student was seen with a toy rifle.

Mansfield police received a call about 9:55 a.m. from a passer-by who saw a student dressed in military garb and a helmet with the gun, school police chief Mike Leyman said. The Mansfield district school, which has about 2,800 students, was immediately locked down.

Police determined the gun was part of an arts project on Vietnam for which students were taking photos, he said. The situation was cleared up around 10:30 a.m., Leyman said.

"There was a breakdown in communication, but everybody did exactly what they were supposed to do," Leyman said.

Principal Donna Grant, who ordered the lockdown, said she was unaware of the Vietnam project.

"A project like that would not meet my approval," she said. "At no time would we want look-alike drugs, guns, alcohol or tobacco on our campus."

The students involved in the project were supervised by an art teacher at all times and will not be punished, Grant said. The teacher was unavailable for comment.

Grant will meet with faculty, staff and students about the incident and to discuss what items should not be brought to campus, she said.

The simulated gun was part of the campus ROTC program. The program's guns are kept in a gun safe, and after the students borrowed the gun for the project, it was immediately returned to the safe, Grant said.

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Heather Ann White, 817-548-5400 hwhite@star-telegram.com

txinvestigator · Post by **txinvestigator** » Wed Sep 13, 2006 11:12 am

This was on the news the day it happened here.

It appears a passer-by saw a person in camo in a ditch with a rifle pointed towards the school. The person called 911.

Although a misundstanding and not really a threat, it was appropriate to call 911, and it was appropriate to lock the school down until it was verified what was actually happening.

In todays violent culture where school shootings happen way too often, it was stupid for the teacher to conduct such a "project" without at least notifying the principal.

Why do you disapprove of the actions taken?

edit to add pic of ROTC simulated gun pic; they look real enough to me.

longtooth · Post by **longtooth** » Wed Sep 13, 2006 11:13 am

A school that has a ROTC program & "at not time would (they) want look alike...guns on campus," winds up being a mutually exclusive statement.

We have a drug prevention week & don't want any look alike drugs.

We have a no smoking campaign but cannot have anything that looks like a cigarette.

Some principles are degreed way beyond real intellagence.

Paladin · Post by **Paladin** » Wed Sep 13, 2006 11:38 am

txinvestigator wrote:

It appears a passer-by saw a person in camo in a ditch with a rifle pointed towards the school. The person called 911.

Your description of a rifle pointed towards the school is different than what the article describes.

The article just talks about a student having a rifle.

That could make the schools actions more understandable, but not the Principal's words. Her statement was ridiculous... and implies that she's not really up to her job if she doesn't even want the ROTC's look-alike guns on campus.

jimlongley · Post by **jimlongley** » Wed Sep 13, 2006 12:11 pm

Most of the rifles in your pic, Jeff, appear to be air rifles, although a couple could be .22s.

What I heard described in the news made me think that what the students were "armed" with were de-activated Springfields or Enfields. That's what my son carried in the honor guard when he was in JROTC.

isa268 · Post by **isa268** » Wed Sep 13, 2006 12:42 pm

"A project like that would not meet my approval," she said. "At no time would we want look-alike drugs, guns, alcohol or tobacco on our campus."

that's stupid back when i went to school in 1998 our color guard had fake wooden rifles they drilled with, and participated with at games and such. what is the world coming to??

*edited for spelling

kw5kw · Post by **kw5kw** » Wed Sep 13, 2006 12:47 pm

isa268 wrote:
"A project like that would not meet my approval," she said. "At no time would we want look-alike drugs, guns, alcohol or tobacco on our campus."
that's stupid back when i went to school in 1998 our color guard had fake wooden rifles they drilled with, and participated with at games and such. what is the world coming to??

*edited for spelling

Back in '68 we had the real-McCoy!

Russ

rgoldy · Post by **rgoldy** » Wed Sep 13, 2006 1:33 pm

I graduated in 64, we had real (not de-mobbed) M-1's and M-1 carbines, in the armory of our ROTC building. I seem to remember there were about 100 of them.
We kept the firing pins in a separate safe, but I got quite adept at re-installing them for drill team firing sequences and field training at Goodrich Jones State Park. We had a practically unlimited supply of blanks. We also had an indoor .22 range on campus where the rifle team (me included) practiced 3 times a week, and held competitions with other high schools in Houston. Worst event I can remember in the 8 years associated with that school (siblings went there too) was an M-1 thumb.
I have not seen anything the even remotely resembled a real weapon used for drill team, color guard, or anything else in a school in so long I cannot remember.
So, yeah I would say that times have changed.
I am also pretty sure that all those "deadly weapons" in the photo of the ROTC kids are .177 pellet rifles.

cyphur · Post by **cyphur** » Wed Sep 13, 2006 1:52 pm

While I think it was prudent to call 911 from the passer-by's perspective, I think the principle is spouting out a politically correct response completely detached from the entire situation. It also sounds she has no idea what goes on at her school.

To bring drugs, alcohol, and tabacco into the mix makes me think she was just pumping out a sound clip fed to her by the school board or something - otherwise she is truely poorly placed at her job.

txinvestigator · Post by **txinvestigator** » Wed Sep 13, 2006 1:53 pm

rgoldy wrote:I am also pretty sure that all those "deadly weapons" in the photo of the ROTC kids are .177 pellet rifles.

Perhaps. My only point is that on 9/11 a kid in camo with what appeared to be a rifle was seen in a ditch at a school. The passer-by, the police nor anyone else not aware of the "project" would be able to tell if those guns were real or not.

jimlongley · Post by **jimlongley** » Wed Sep 13, 2006 2:40 pm

txinvestigator wrote:
rgoldy wrote:I am also pretty sure that all those "deadly weapons" in the photo of the ROTC kids are .177 pellet rifles.

Perhaps. My only point is that on 9/11 a kid in camo with what appeared to be a rifle was seen in a ditch at a school. The passer-by, the police nor anyone else not aware of the "project" would be able to tell if those guns were real or not.

Amen!

DustinB · Post by **DustinB** » Mon Sep 18, 2006 9:49 pm

When I was in high school in pearland almost 8 years ago we had real guns. M1 Garands that had wires welded in the chambers and the barrels filled with lead. Never had any problems like this.