Licking Valley neighbors work on healing after shooting hoax
From law enforcement who swarmed the area to football players who formed a human wall to protect their classmates to neighbors who sheltered fleeing students, there’s no shortage of stories of heroism in the Licking Valley community.
On Friday morning, Licking County dispatchers received a 911 call reporting an active shooter at Licking Valley High School. It turned out Licking Valley was one of at least a dozen schools across Ohio that was targeted in false active shooter reports that day.
According to 911 calls, obtained by The Advocate through a records request, the initial call was made by a man with a thick accent who identified himself as James Park. He claimed an active shooter was at Licking Valley on the second floor, mentioning room 201 and English class. Much of the call was repeated to different areas across Ohio with variations in the details.
There were seven other 911 calls made to Licking County Regional Communications Center - many of them relatives asking if there was an active shooting at their students’ school.
“‘The call’ may have been a hoax, but that’s the only thing that was fake,” Licking Valley Superintendent Scott Beery said. “Our students, our staff, our parents, our community, law enforcement, everybody did exactly as they were trained to do. But that comes at a cost. It was real.”
The district returned to class on Monday morning, Beery said, and spent the day working through the trauma from the lockdown. Beery said districts from around Licking County provided extra counselors for his district and they received extra resources through the Licking County Crisis Team and the Licking County Sheriff’s Office.
Beery said that work will continue and they’ll have support available for students and staff. He added they’ll also make some resources available to parents.
In a message to the district on Sunday afternoon, Beery prepared students, staff and parents for the return to school on Monday. He cautioned them it wouldn’t feel or be normal, that they would use the day to begin the process of “processing, healing, learning, growing and supporting one another.”
“I know tomorrow will be difficult for all involved; staff, students, parents alike. I certainly to not have all the answers to make everyone feel better, but you have my solemn promise that we will figure it out, TOGETHER!” the superintendent wrote. He ended his message by thanking staff for their words of encouragement and appreciation, and for everyone’s patience and understanding.
Scanner traffic on Friday indicated Licking County law enforcement detained one individual, who matched the description of the reported shooter. He was later found to be a parent, who responded armed to the school to help.
Beery said law enforcement determined the parent had showed up to help, but Beery cautioned parents against doing that. The superintendent acknowledged fears some parents may have about being in a rural district and concerns about how quick law enforcement response would be, but he said in Friday’s response, they were there “instantaneously.”
“The person immediately complied, which saved his life,” Beery said of the parent. “Otherwise, (police) were going to minimize that threat...my advice is don’t do that. Let law enforcement come here.”
Informally, Beery said their district has begun debriefing with their students and staff. He said they’ll meet as an administrative team Tuesday afternoon, then later with the Licking County Sheriff’s Office to determine what adjustments they need to make for their response plans. Beery said they’ll also consult with a school safety firm.
Already, Beery has a couple things they anticipate need changed, including their internal communications system and their reunification process.
“Our internal communications system needs to get a little bit better. It’s not bad, but I think it can be better. We need a better device with which we can communicate,” he said.
He also explained their plan had always included doing reunification offsite for each school, but Friday’s call affected all their buildings, so he anticipates that will change their reunification plan for the future. There were also traffic challenges on Friday as hundreds of parents went to pick up their children.
Amid everything the call brought, Beery said their kids and staff did amazing. And that law enforcement who responded were nothing short of heroic.
Beery recounted stories of kids helping their substitute teachers through the lockdown, football players who stood as a human wall to protect their classmates during a study hall, teachers who went door to door in search of snacks and juice for their diabetic student after they fled their building, and neighbors who sheltered fleeing students in their homes and fed them.
“Those are heroes. That’s amazing,” Beery said. “But that comes at a price. there’s trauma attached to that. For our kids and our staff and our parents, they lived through that. It breaks my heart they had to and it breaks my heart we have to train them. But they did exactly what they were trained to do.”