While Palo Verde High School freshman Aaren Griffiths waited at the bus stop, the recent spate of school threats, both local and nationwide, were on his mind.
People would just show what theyre posting and be like, ‘Guys, watch out,’ Griffiths said. I saw one (where) theyre going to pull the fire alarm, and when everyone goes outside, theyre going to shoot everybody.
The threats were what prompted the Tucson Unified School District to hold a virtual community meeting with Tucson Police Department.
Joe Hallums, TUSDs director of school safety was at the meeting and said during credible threats, they have lockdowns and secure perimeters.
Obviously our goal is to prevent anything from happening, Hallums said.
When it comes to training, he said school safety personnel do active shooter drills and teachers get resources. However, he said teachers dont do drills with students.
We understand that during a critical situation, we just want them out of sight behind a locked door, he said.
During the meeting, TUSD superintendent Dr. Gabriel Trujillo said TUSD has the only armed school safety force in Arizona. He also said any student who makes a threat will get immediately expelled.
However, students are wondering if TPD’s actions are enough to keep them safe.
They dont have the doors locked because of the threats. Theyre still open or theyre unlocked. I think they should keep them locked, Griffiths sad.
The Tucson Police Department said people should not repost the threats because that can make it hard for them to find the original student or person who posted it. They said it can also be hard to find out whether its a national post or from somebody local.
Trujillo said the recent bond voters passed is going towards updated fencing, windows, and cameras.
Meanwhile, students said theyre staying calm.
Theyre not going to do anything, so no, Im not scared, student Esmeralda Loaiza said.