By: Angelina Gomez, Leah Navarro, Estrella McDaniel
Last Tuesday, February 19, Redwood High School was put on lock down due to an incident that happened near the school. Many students and staff were concerned to why they were put on lock down. Most students thought it was just a drill, but the staff knew it was real because it was not mentioned on the schedule.
The real reason why Redwood was put on lock down last Tuesday was because there were suspects, running from the police towards Redwood. Anytime there’s a nearby incident, it’s important that we, Redwood, go on lock down, just for our safety. Redwood’s School Campus Police Officer, Mena, states, “There was a vehicle that was possibly stolen and the officers who were following them stated that they may have had weapons in the vehicle. Once that happened there was a short pursuit and then they abandoned the vehicle and fled on foot; there was a few of them and some went towards Kaweah Delta while the other went towards westbound which is going to redwood.”
“Once we saw some individuals running towards Redwood then we, few of us from the school research officer unit went after one subject and he was detained. Right then when we put out we were by Redwood they lock down the school to make sure there was no other people that were in the vehicle that could have been in our area. The protocol is a phone call saying hey there is a situation going on, but every situation can be different from a traffic spill, people in the facility, and if there is someone on campus that could be a threat then Redwood would go on lock down.”
Redwood’s School Staff, Mr. Marroquin, states”When it comes to student safety we have to follow the chain and command and we are contacted by the Visalia Police Department to go on lock down and at that moment we do not ask why we just follow the directions for the student safety. We assassinated the lock down and later it was told to us that is because of a near by arrest that was being made, any time there is an arrest of any level of threat involving a close proximity to Redwood it is safer to lock us down that way there is no miscommunication because there are times when kids get out early or have a past to go to the dentist we just don’t kids to walk out to some sort of event like that.
This protocol for the Lock down has helped Redwood against any possible threats. Although this lock down didn’t last very long it was still an experience that some will keep with them. The staff of Redwood High School always does everything they can to assure the safety of all ranger students, and to make sure that this school still stays a safe environment for students everywhere.