Parents Outraged With Lack Of Communication During A School Shooting
Parents were outraged following an Oakland school shooting in which school officials failed to alert families of the incident.
A 13-year-old student was shot at Madison Park Academy in California. The perpetrator is believed to be a 12-year-old student and has been detained. Unfortunately, parents are outraged at the mishandling of this Oakland school shooting.
The Oakland school shooting occurred around 1:30 p.m. on Monday, August 29th. Students hid in classrooms and the gym. Many began texting their parents as police quickly responded to the situation. Unfortunately, as helicopters were flying around the area, parents were left in the dark.
It was not until 10 p.m. that parents received an official alert from the district. For 8 and ½ hours concerned mothers and fathers had been contacting school officials to receive details on the Oakland school shooting. This was well after students were released, and the injured boy was rushed to the hospital where he remains in critical condition.
When they finally received the alert it vaguely described the incident and offered little to no support, apologies, or plans to ensure that proper communications practices are updated in the future. Parent/student communications are vital to families, especially in times of crisis. Although this Oakland school shooting was not a rare event of mass violence, parents still need to know when their children have been exposed to danger in order to properly console them.
Various districts across the nation have been increasing security protocols to prevent and properly handle school violence. Many of these efforts include expanding teacher training, adding security cameras, and even panic buttons but very few school officials have openly discussed additional communications measures. The Oakland school shooting displays why so many parents allow their children to bring cellphones to school.
Without these personal devices, mothers and fathers often have no details regarding dangerous situations like the Oakland school shooting. Loren Taylor, an Oakland City Councilman decried the school’s mishandling of the situation, remarking, “When we fail to plan we plan to fail.” The school failed parents throughout this situation. In addition, school resumed, as usual, the very next day.
While some community members blame gun violence, Oakland has seen an increase in isolated school shootings, violence at playgrounds, and other areas. This comes just over a year after the city council voted to strip area law enforcement of $17 million. These defund the police measures have proven detrimental to the safety and security of residents in various areas and may be a factor in the Oakland school shooting.
Investigators have determined that this Oakland school shooting was not “deliberate.” The gun was immediately recovered as the 12-year-old suspect was apprehended. Even so, this incident is a chilling example of how schools are ill-prepared to contact families in emergency situations.
Whether the Oakland school shooting was an accident or not, a young student brought a gun on campus, shot another student, and forced the school into lockdown. It is unclear if any charges will be filed or what sort of punishment the student in question will receive. What’s more, parents were not notified about the situation until hours after the incident was over. This has led many to question what could happen if a much more detrimental event were to occur.
