Scaring the crap out of a bunch of kids for no reason.

The reason for all the hysteria over school shootings is because Obama decided to try to use the issue as a tool for attacking America's freedom.

How many children died in school fires last year? Should they stop having fire drills?

When I went to school we had duck and cover drills. No one thought these were a joke or unnecessary

There were many Americans who thought these duck and cover drills were an unnecessary joke...

According to the data, there have been a total of 137 fatal school shootings that killed 297 victims since 1980. Elementary schools saw the fewest shootings (17), while high schools saw the most (62). Each decade had more shooting deaths than the previous one.
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/map_of_the_week/2012/12/sandy_hook_a_chart_of_all_196_fatal_school_shootings_since_1980_map.html

These useless drills may actually do harm by making us feel we are doing something even though the something doesn't even address the real problems behind school shootings.

One thing a swat drill does is to help prepare and familiarize everyone, including children, with what the police response is likely to be in such a situation.

Can you give me a single example of when the police has responded in this way to such situation in the past, let's say, 40 years?

On Tuesday, in Georgia, the school shooter surrendered. If there was a training exercise for taking away a compliant person who hadn't hurt anyone than that would have come in handy in that situation.

The problem with these terrorist drills is that they don't actually help people get prepared. That's not the purpose.

Police kill Miami school bus hijacker
November 2, 1995

MIAMI, Florida (CNN) -- A man claiming to be armed with a bomb hijacked a school bus Thursday and led police on a low- speed chase to Miami Beach, where he was shot and killed.

The 11 fifth- and sixth-graders still on the bus escaped serious injury as did the woman driver, who was hailed as a hero by school officials.
Bus on highway
The bus rammed a police cruiser on an expressway in the early stages of the chase and later hit a marked Dade County school district car before the chase ended in gunfire.

There was no bomb, but police, aware of the hijacker's threat to blow up the bus, quickly dragged him away from the bus into a nearby alley.

Police said the hijacker had just quit his job at Joe's Stone Crab restaurant and was demanding a conference with the Internal Revenue Service in a dispute involving thousands of dollars in what the IRS was calling unpaid taxes.

Police identified the man as Catalino Nick Sang, 42, a native of the Dominican Republic who was of Chinese descent. His immigration records indicate he legally entered the United States on March 28, 1984, as a Chinese specialty cook.

He forced a woman and two children onto the bus at a bus stop just outside Miami city limits in South Dade County, police said, and commandeered the bus by threatening to blow it up.

An anonymous caller reported the hijacking to police and a low-speed chase involving Metro-Dade and Florida State Patrol cruisers followed.

The bus stopped three times during the chase, once so the driver could ask police to provide the hijacker with a cellular phone. A Florida State trooper threw a cell phone into the bus at an exit off the highway. A subsequent video recording showed the man talking on the phone.

At another stop, a woman and two children got off the bus and climbed into a nearby police car.

The final stop was outside the Miami Beach restaurant where the hijacker had worked. The man was shot to death there, apparently while trying to get off the bus.

A police source told CNN the man was shot in the doorway of the bus before it stopped in front of Joe's Stone Crab restaurant and then again after it stopped as he tried to get off.
Hijacker behind driver
Witnesses told reporters at the scene three shots were fired as the man was getting off the bus.

"When he came off the bus, words were pretty much exchanged, stuff like that ... and the (police), just right there, shot him. Boom," one witness said. "We didn't really see much of it, but (there was) commotion."

Detective Juan del Castillo said police ordered the man to get off the bus. "He didn't comply and that's when we shot him," del Castillo said.

After the shooting, the hijacker was dragged into a nearby alley. His body was later seen covered with a tarp.

Sgt. Ralph Fernandez said the man had threatened to blow up the bus. He said a device -- "some sort of canister" -- was found on the bus, but that it was not a bomb.

None of the children was seriously hurt, although at least three suffered minor injuries. Officials at Mount Sinai Hospital said one child, a 7-year-old autistic boy, was treated for lacerations of the face and right arm caused by flying glass.

Del Castillo said the man got on the bus at an intersection on Miami's south side at 8:26 a.m. He threatened the driver with a bag that contained the canister and ordered her to drive.

The bus could been seen moving slowly down a Miami expressway surrounded by police cruisers. The woman driver sat calmly at the steering wheel and the hijacker sat next to a child several seats behind her.

The bus drove through Miami Beach, stopping at Joe's Stone Crab Restaurant. One child was allowed to get off the bus. Then the bus began moving again.

The police Special Response Team could be seen moving in. Shots were fired and police dragged the suspect from the bus. The children were then taken out of the bus through the rear emergency exit.
Bus driver
The bus was carrying students to Blue Lakes Elementary School. "The bus driver frankly was a hero," said school superintendent Octavio Visiedo. "She never panicked. She did an excellent job." (112K AIFF sound or 112K WAV sound)

Joanne Sterns, the school principal, said five of the children were in the special education program. She said, "I understand that the bus had stopped at a railroad crossing when a gentlemen hopped on the bus. He had had trouble with the IRS and was trying to use the children to get what he wanted."

She said the parents of the students on the bus were at the school and were aware that the incident was over and that none of the students were injured.
Child on bus
After the incident was over, the children were taken into Joe's Stone Crab and given ice cream. School officials said some were quiet but all seemed all right.

A school bus later picked up the students and took them back to their elementary school

http://www.cnn.com/US/9511/hijacked_bus/pm/

April 30, 2013
Preparing for the threat of hijacking

Regardless of whether the driver obeys the commands or resists a hijacker, every single school bus driver must understand that their No. 1 priority is the protection of the children on board. Drivers must be prepared mentally for these situations and conduct drills to reinforce proper procedures.

By Bret E. Brooks


On Jan. 29, 2013, Charles Albert Poland Jr. became a true American hero. He gave his life so that young, innocent children might live.

The man who murdered Mr. Poland then abducted a 5-year-old boy and retreated to a bunker. After six agonizing days, Ethan was reunited with his family.

This tragedy in Midland City, Ala., is just the latest in a rash of violence targeted against schools and students. Whether it is an active murderer as at Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut on Dec. 14, 2012, or one of the hundreds of bomb threats that have been called in to schools since the start of this school year, we are seeing an increase in violence at what should be sacredly safe educational institutions.

There is one simple fact that everyone should understand: Every school in the U.S. — and school bus drivers — must be prepared for violence.

Bus hijacking history

Hijacking school buses is not a new concept. For decades, other countries have dealt with school bus hijackings and bombings. Many school buses in Israel have armed guards on board to deter terrorists.

Charles Poland was certainly not the first American school bus driver to be hijacked. One of the most notable school bus hijackings was the 1976 Chowchilla, Calif., incident in which bus driver Ed Ray, another true American hero, and 26 children were kidnapped and buried alive in a moving van. After 16 hours, Mr. Ray and some of the students were able to break through a covered opening in the ceiling and get everyone to safety.

Another notable school bus hijacking occurred in 1995 in Miami. Alicia Chapman’s bus was hijacked while full of children. She followed the hijacker’s instructions until police shot and killed the suspect.

A week before the recent hijacking in Alabama, on Jan. 23, a Kansas City, Mo., school bus driver refused to allow an unknown person on the bus and drove away. That suspect then began shooting at the bus. Luckily, no one was hurt, and a possible hijacking was prevented.

Anticipating threats

The prevention of hijackings is a cornerstone of Gray Ram Tactical LLC’s training class “School Bus Hijacking Awareness and Response.” Drivers are taught how they can prevent hijackings and what to do if they are hijacked. Drivers are also taught what they can do to assist law enforcement during the situation. This article is not intended to provide a full training course, but below is some pertinent information that drivers can utilize if they ever find themselves in a potential hijacking situation.

Potential hijackers are not always adults. School bus hijackings have been committed by students. The shooter in Kansas City was reportedly a student at a local school.

In May 2011, a North Carolina school bus driver, Evans Okoduwa, was able to disarm a seventh-grader by talking to the student.

When adults hijack school buses, there can be a variety of motives. The hijackers in 1976 wanted money, the hijacker in 1995 was angry at his previous employer, and we may never know the motive of the hijacker in Alabama. The adult could be a complete stranger or a parent of one of the students on board. Additionally, terrorism might be a motivator for hijackings.

In short, a potential hijacker could be anyone of any age, race, ethnicity, sex or background. This is why it is so important to follow policies of not allowing anyone on the bus unless they are authorized. This must include both adults and children.

Plan and practice

Every school bus driver should have an emergency plan of what to do if they are hijacked. These emergency plans must be practiced just like evacuation drills.

Understandable codes should be used by drivers to inform other drivers, dispatch or supervisors of situations. Instead of calling over the radio that they “have been hijacked” or that they “think a student has a gun,” drivers should use codes, like “Code Blue” or “Code Five.”

Additionally, drivers should have periodic check-ins with dispatch or a supervisor. If one of the check-ins is missed, that can alert others of a potential problem.

School districts should also work closely with law enforcement. Local police should have an understanding of bus routes and attempt to patrol those routes. This can deter hijackers, and it is effective at reducing stop-arm violations.

Creating and maintaining a “Bus Patrol” of students can also be effective for emergencies. In programs like these, older students are taught what to do in case of various circumstances. One possible situation might be that the Bus Patrol officer will call 911 if someone attempts to hijack the school bus.

In today’s world, most kids have cell phones. While the student is calling the police, the driver can focus on the hijacker, knowing that someone else is calling for help. Again, these scenarios should be practiced in drills.

Assess the situation

If a school bus is hijacked, the driver must make some very important decisions in a very short amount of time. There are two schools of thought: The first is for the driver to obey the hijacker’s commands and wait for assistance. The second is for the driver to resist. There are many factors that must go into the decision on which approach to take. It is the totality of the circumstances that should lead the driver to the correct decision.

Regardless of whether the driver obeys the commands or resists a hijacker, every single school bus driver must understand that their No. 1 priority is the protection of the children on board. Drivers must be prepared mentally for these situations and conduct drills to reinforce proper procedures.

I encourage every driver to seek out training and learn what they can do to protect themselves and the children on their bus. I also implore school districts to provide quality training to every member of their staff.


http://www.schoolbusfleet.com/Channel/School-Bus-Safety/Articles/2013/04/Preparing-for-the-threat-of-hijacking.aspx

When I went to school we had duck and cover drills. No one thought these were a joke or unnecessary, even though we hadn't had a nuclear attack.

Many of us understood how ridiculous they were at the time.