Schools preparing for the worst, with active shooter drills

CARMEL, Ind. (AP) — "Lockdown, lockdown, lockdown. This is a drill."

With those seven words, calmly announced over the intercom system, an eerie silence overtook a bustling elementary school of 650 students in suburban Indianapolis. Lights were turned off and blinds shut. In some classrooms, doors were barricaded with small desks and chairs.

From start to finish, the "intruder drill" at the Forest Dale Elementary School in Carmel took about 10 minutes — an exercise now as routine at the school as a fire drill. What might sound terrifying to some parents has become the norm in many schools nationwide after a rash of school shootings.

http://www.chron.com/news/crime/article/Schools-preparing-for-the-worst-with-active-7950976.php