On October 23, 2022, Williston High School went into immediate lockdown, when they got reports of an active shooter on Campus. Teachers were immediately informed and advised to lock their doors subtly. After the doors were shut, students began to wonder. Some teachers instructed students to get away from the door and windows, but some teachers didn’t do anything and kept teaching.
Once students got the email, panic started. Now keep in mind, that they had just found that apartment full of bombs, so they had just started to light them off earlier that day, so they wouldn’t explode anywhere else. While students were hiding under the table mounted to the wall, students had other students on their laps due to needing a safe feeling but also because the classes were cold.
Some students didn’t take it seriously and they kept messing around while being told by the teacher over and over to sit down and stay quiet. There were also students texting their parents, which is what started the panic. Wrong information was being spread across the community because nobody knew what was going on. For example, there were 3 very loud bangs going through the school, and everyone on the 3rd floor heard them.
The people on the 1st and 2nd floor told other students, that they were gunshots, so of course that caused more panic. After parents heard this news, they freaked out and started calling the school, which is understandable.
All students were bussed to a safe location. There, students got the word that all the things they were told by other students were lies, kind of similar to the game telephone. There was no threat to the students or the school. Parents all had to pick their children up and sign them out, for safety reasons. If students had their keys with them, they could go grab their vehicles from the school. If not, students weren’t able to get their car, phone, or belongings until Monday.
This also goes to show that a situation can go from 0-10 in a matter of seconds, and the situation can escalate to extreme levels all due to word of mouth.
