STUDENT PRAISES COLLEGE PROCEDURES
AN Upper Coomera State College student last night praised school authorities for their response to the shooting threats that resulted in the school locked down twice in one day.
Worried students were forced to sit under windows and huddle together in classrooms for hours, unsure whether a gunman was wandering the campus.
The lockdowns came after posts were made on social media threatening to shoot students at the school. Police have not charged anybody in relation to the threats.
Posted to the Upper Coomera neighbourhood Watch Group Community group, the anonymous letter from the student read: “Hi, so as you all know our school went into lockdown twice today following shooting threats to the school. The first drill began around 9:40 this morning following the first threat in order to keep all of us safe. My class and I proceeded to sit under the windows unsure whether this was real or not. (Most practice drills, we would already be aware of and they’d usually be in period 3 or 4.) “Our teacher made sure all windows and doors were locked and then he sat down with us. We were all slightly nervous but talked quietly among ourselves or took out our phones to see if anyone knew what was going on. Most of our parents had texted us to see if we were okay etc. About
12pm we got the all-clear and were told to go to a debrief down at the sports centre. “Most of the parents were already there, searching for their kids and I could see the stress on their faces. We all flooded into the sports center (sic) and the parents on the top level. We pretty much got told there was a threat to the school and if any of us were anxious or scared that there was a support system etc “As we walked up near the office where we eat lunch I could see all the news reporters trying to get footage (they were sent away by the school) and parents rushing in to pick up their kids. The rest of us got about 30-40 minutes break and then sent to our third period class. “We got about 15 minutes into the lesson and i (sic) think it was around 1:15 and the second drill went off. We all kind of just stopped what we were doing saying stuff like, “maybe it’s just a test or something” though we all knew when the office lady (she sounded frightened but calm) told us that this was another lockdown and to follow all procedures. “This class was more open however. We all huddled in using the best of the space. Most of us felt overwhelmed now as another post came up with an image of a gun and the caption said, ‘It ain’t over till I say it’s over … ‘ I think that’s what really got to us. “After a while the alarm stopped and the office lady over the speaker once again notified us that we were still in lockdown though it was a silent lockdown now. The school did an amazing job in securing all of us and their staff, assuring that we were all safe and the police were notified. The gates were unlocked at 2:40 once we got the all-clear and sent down to the sport centre once again for a debrief. “Most of us were all a little shaken up but I’m thankful that no one was hurt and greatly thankful for the actions of the school and police in order to keep us all safe.”