It’s a regular day at school. Students are roaming the halls, teachers are teaching, and commotion is all around. Midway through 5th period, there’s an announcement and the school is now in lockdown. This isn’t just another drill, this is the real deal.

The first thing that will initially happen is that “they will come over the PA system and say that we are now in lockdown,” school resource officer Mark Mitchell said.

Now, for the majority of people who are in a classroom, they have the most rehearsed plan: taking cover and staying quiet while the teacher locks the door.

But for those outside of a classroom at this time, things are a bit different.

For people at the front desk:

“If somebody did come in, my instructions would be the same as anybody else which is to take cover,” front office receptionist Rhonda Lloyd said. “If we had a lock down there’s a little room (in the offices next to her area at the front desk) called the vault that is just like a closet. We would go in there and lockdown.”

For people in the commons:

“It would really depend on the situation,” Mitchell said. “If someone’s coming in through the front you would want to go back to the Majestics locker room or one of their athletic locker rooms.” 

For people in a bathroom:

“If you’re in the bathroom and you are done, I would say get out and go to the nearest room. If not, I would say wrap it up as quick as possible and go find a room,” Mitchell said. “But if you can’t then that’s really a tricky one. Because if you do stand up on the pot, it may work, but then again what happens if he starts coming and checking all the doors. That one’s a tricky one.”

For people in the library:

“In the library they have a certain area that they will take you depending on what part of the library you’re in,” Mitchell said. “You either go to one room on one side or if you’re on the other side, the other room.”

For people in the halls:

“If you’re in the hallway, you find the closest room and try to get in it,” Mitchell said.

Once in a lockdown, teachers are supposed to lock their doors and let no one from the outside in.

“What they’ve been trained or told to do is that before they shut their door they’re supposed to look out into the hallway and if there’s kids right there, they’re supposed to get them in their room and then shut the door,” Mitchell said. “If the doors shut, you’re out of luck.”

While this covers just about all the locations for everyone to go, it leaves Mitchell out. Being the one person with a gun on campus, this leaves him with a different type of job than “locking down” like the rest of the school.

“If it’s a gunman I go find him and pray to god I’m a better shot,” Mitchell said.

The Red Ledger’s Adrian Moger goes around campus asking students if they know the lockdown procedures. Click below to hear more.