Gun men terrorizing School

So you hear many stories about a gunman entering a school and then the school going on lockdown. I know this might sound a little weird and insensitive to me, but the idea of a school going on lockdown gave me a rush. It is a scary experience for the ones who have survived through one. But I would have never known until it happened to my school.

Yes, it happened to me when my school went on lockdown. And no, it was not scary. It was traumatizing. It haunts me even today. So it all happened when I was in high school. We were having our lunch break - the bell rang. The lectures were about to begin. So as per usual, students rushed back to their classes. And I used to move like a sloth. I hated studying.

So as per usual, I followed my typical route. I went to the washroom before heading toward my class. It would save me a few minutes from the boring professor’s lecture. I was relieving myself at my own pace when I heard a bell ring. It wasn’t a typical one. It was an alarm for our school to go on lockdown. I got all excited because my school was doing these lockdown drills regularly. And these drills would train us on what to do in such situations. We students loved it. Because most importantly, they would kill a lot of time. 

So after three short alarms, I decided to rush to my class. But then I remembered that we were to stay put and mainly hide wherever possible. So I was the happiest when the alarm rang because I got to hide in the entire washroom. So I was moving around in there for about 20 minutes. I was a little restless because there was nothing else to do. Plus, usually, by now, the students should have been asked to leave the building one classroom at a time. But the hallway was dead silent.

I tried to peek outside, but I could see no one. It was empty. Not a single soul was visible. I thought I had missed the noise when students went out. So I started to walk through the empty hallway. I couldn’t see anyone through the glass in the classroom doors. Before I went to the main exit, I decided to pick up my school bag. I opened the door - I wasn’t expecting anyone. When I looked around, I saw over 20 pairs of eyes staring at me. They gasped as I entered through the door. I saw their paranoid faces, and it got me completely confused. The professor pulled me behind the podium and made hid me there.

I asked him what happened, and he whispered back. And my expression changed when I realized this was not a drill. He told me a student had seen a gunman enter the school during our lunch break. So she alarmed the professors, and they put the school on lockdown. They ensured me the cops were on their way or had already reached. And we were supposed to stay in our positions. I was trying to process the entire turn of events when I heard a loud gunshot from the hallway.

The classroom gasped in unison. The professor signaled us to not make noise. The psycho killer was pacing outside our class. He hadn’t seen us yet. Or maybe anyone. He seemed frustrated that he hadn’t got anyone yet. And he was trying to make noises, to create some panic. A loud shattering sound echoed in our classroom as he fired shots at our classroom door’s glass.

Luckily, no one was shot or injured. The deafening silence in the room was commendable. But it haunted me back then, and it haunts me today. We were just one wrong step away from being killed by the psycho killer, who was standing outside with a gun. The next one minute was slow. But eventually, the man moved ahead and did not enter our class. As soon as he went past, a girl whimpered in relief. She suppressed her noise. But some of it made it past her hands that cupped her mouth.

Now, this should not have been an issue because it was not much loud. But now that the glass was down, the voice could easily escape the classroom and reach the hallway. We heard a loud giggle outside. He sounded like an eccentric man when he said that he heard it. A chill ran down our spine. We did not know what to do next. He mimicked the noise again and laughed like a maniac. My professor pulled me down as soon as the gunman reached our door. He peeped inside through the space where the glass used to be and asked, “May I come in?” and then laughed.

A student cried that he must have heard us - that was it. He knew we were hiding inside the classroom. He shouted at the top of his voice, “Gotcha!”

He tried to unlatch the door by putting his hand through the broken glass. He couldn’t reach. So he eventually gave up and aimed his gun at the door’s lock. He counted from 3 to 1 and then fired a shot. The shout made us all panic. We were ready to throw our bags and other belongings at him, but a loud thud got us all confused. The gunman had fallen to the floor. A bullet had gone through his head.

Before we could conclude, a cop opened the door and asked us to stay put. He said the threat had been neutralized, but they were going to do a precautionary check throughout the school. So we stayed inside for another hour. It was a relief that the cops had the situation under control. We requested a cop to stay at the door - he obliged. The ambulance took the psycho killer and cleaned the crime scene. They did not want us to get traumatized by the bloody mess outside. Little did they know - the damage was already done.

It was scary. And even today, it gives me the creeps. After that incident, I remember getting nightmares about it for weeks. I used to wake up in the middle of the night, panting and breathless. I hope the situation in America improves. We need better security in schools. Had the cop not reached in time, an entire class full of students, including me, would not have survived. But thank god, we came out alive from that horrible situation. I still wonder what would have happened if the cops had not reached on time. We were all ready to throw stuff at him. But it would have never been enough to stop a man with a gun. He would have cold-heartedly shot all of us. Maybe even giggled incessantly after it. I wish I had never heard that creepy laugh of his.