Amok fear at US schools: "I just do not know what's going to happen"

The alarm goes off. At the Richard Montgomery High School and other schools in the area near Washington DC, "Code Red" is buzzing and flashing on thousands of smartphones.

Police, schools and parents are networked via mobile phone. Everyone knows: there is a threat. A man races around in the car a few miles away and shoots people. The schools must respond.

Some opt for the "shelter in place" response: all students are taken from the hallway to the classrooms, doors and windows are closed, and the small hatch in the door is covered. Other schools call the complete "lock down". Pupils from pre-school to high school squat under their tables on the floor for the next two hours and wait.

That's two years ago. But the feeling of threat has remained with the students of the Richard Montgomery High School - also because it came after a number of other acts of violence in US schools. There were 54 deaths and 105 injuries, according to a university statistics from January to mid-November. 2018 was the deadliest year yet at US schools.

How does so much violence affect schools - and their students?

Regular training to protect against amok situations is part of everyday life in US schools. At the Richard-Montgomery School they are graduated every three months, as well as tornado or fire alarm. The 16-year-old Tanya Kibyi has already experienced such an emergency in addition to such training.

Tanya: "In the 5th grade there was actually a shoot, five minutes from our elementary school, we sat in Lock Down for two hours, and I remember being terribly scared, I'm worried about the school shootings just do not know what will happen in the next few weeks or months. "

"Not the country where I want to live permanently"

DPA

Tanya Kibyi

Tanya had come from Kenya to the United States at the age of eight and is now an American citizen:

"The US is not the country I envisioned, I thought the US was a land of hope, but innocent people are constantly passing bad things, and if that changes, my attitude towards America may change as well At the moment, it is not the country where I want to live permanently. "

Noah Mack, also 16 years old, is taught home by his mother at home. Nevertheless, he also feels the increasing threat of school shootings at school:

Noah: "School violence is not only terrible because of the death, emotional stress and hopelessness that it spreads, but how are children supposed to learn if they do not feel safe?"

Sad climax of violence at US schools in 2018: the rampage of Parkland in the US state of Florida. On February 14, 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz shot and killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, including 14 students.

Lauren Bushey, 17 years old, says she was really scared shortly thereafter. "There were rumors that someone on Instagram would have said something similar at our school, unlike others, we were lucky - it was just a rumor."

"I do not think it is a good idea to equip teachers with weapons"

The Parkland massacre not only had consequences for students, but also had an impact on the political discourse in the US. President Donald Trump introduced the arming of teachers and shooting training for teachers as protective measures against rampage runs. Against it were demands of the survivors for tougher weapons laws.

REUTERS

"March for Our Lives" demo in Washington in 2018

Hundreds of thousands of young people across the country joined these demands. It was the student initiative "March for Our Lives", the Nobel Peace Prize winner Desmond Tutu on Tuesday in Cape Town has awarded the International Children's Peace Prize. "I am in awe of these children whose powerful message is reinforced by their unwavering belief that children can not only change their future, but change it," he said.

Lauren Bushey says that after the Parkland massacre, many students have taken politics to the fore:

Lauren: "Sure, I went to DC with other students to protest against gun violence, but seriously, what does it really do, I can not vote yet, so as soon as I can vote, I'd like to see who I am I do not think it is a good idea to equip teachers with weapons.

Our constitution was made a long time ago by white men. At that time there was still slavery and no women's rights. All that could be changed. Why not the Second Amendment on firearms? Rescinding the alcohol ban was not a problem. "

"What if?"

Even the 15-year-old ninth grader Anand Chitnis believes that change is possible:

Anand: "There are a lot of young people working together in our school and in the whole district to get involved, we are organizing walk outs, phone calls, talking to members of Congress, and a friend of mine does not think these actions are going to do any good But at least we need to raise awareness that politicians must make those changes. "

DPA

Anand Chitnis

Meanwhile, the students have at least the headmaster on their side.

"In the beginning he was very hesitant - and I know that teachers are not allowed to express themselves politically or take a position, but he is also the father of children, and at some point he started supporting us and enabling much - including the action with the white T-shirts. "

photo gallery

7 pictures

Students at Richard-Montgomery High School hung dozens of long-row white T-shirts at the fence of the football field in May 2018, like a laundry bill. They bore the names of all the students who were victims of gun violence in schools until the US action.

A few weeks earlier, at a neighboring high school, a teenager had been caught in a school backpack with a semi-automatic 9-millimeter pistol. The 18-year-old lived in a household with numerous weapons. Nothing happened in the end. Nevertheless, such incidents do not pass the youth without a trace.

"I do not really think that a shoot will happen at our school," says Anand. "But there's always that sign in your head that says: What if?"