Miami-Dade Schools Experience Another Lockdown

Every day, schools across the country face a multitude of potential emergency incidents. Southern Florida schools have experienced their share of emergency incidents. Over the last couple of months; an object was thrown through the entrance of the Jewish High School in Miami Beach, a student was killed at Coral Gables Senior High School, and six Miami-Dade students were arrested for bringing weapons to school. These are just a few of the incidents that have happened in southern Florida schools. Today, the Miami-Dade school system experienced yet another emergency incident.

Shots were fired at a police officer outside of Westview Elementary and Middle School. The incident began in the wee hours. Lebovich and Mazzei reported, "According to police, the incident began when cops responded at about 4:30 a.m. to a house near the schools for a domestic violence call." LeMay is seen as a routine call, quickly escalated. As many criminals do, the perpetrator tried to avoid the police by fleeing in his car. Leading police to initiate a five hour manhunt.

As a precaution, the Westview Elementary and Middle Schools were placed on lockdown. Lockdown can entail many different procedures including an locking classroom doors or moving students to secure areas if the classroom cannot be locked. Depending on the thread, staff members may also be assigned to lock exterior doors, pull blinds on windows, and monitor the hallways. The steps are taken to prevent a threat from entering the building and/or to provide barriers between the thread and staff/students.

While students were locked down, the scene outside continued. Docampo and Hamacher reported, "Police helicopters and several officers on the ground spent nearly four and a half hours searching for the suspect as the schools were placed on lockdown." The suspect was eventually found and the school returned to normal. This incident highlights how important it is for school administrators to plan for threats, both interior and exterior.

References
Jewish high schools entrance damaged in Miami Beach. November 2009. Miami herald.com. Retrieved on November 18, 2009 from http://www.miamiherald.com/news/southflorida/story/1325356.html?storylink=mirelated
Student killed in fighting at Florida school, officials say. September 2009. CNN.com. Retrieved on November 18, 2009 from http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/09/15/school.stabbing/index.html
Lebovich, Jennifer and Mazzei, Patricia. Six Miami-Dade students arrested for having weapons of school. September 2009. Palm Beach Post. Retrieved November 18th 2009 from http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/content/local_news/epaper/2009/09/17/0917schoolweapons.html
Docampo, Claudia and Hamacher, Brian. Shots Fired at Cops Lockdown Miami-Dade Schools. November 2009. NBCMiami.com. Retrieved on November 18, 2009 from http://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local-beat/Lockdown-at-School-After-Shots-Fired-at-Cops-70266107.html