As state and federal lawmakers fail to take meaningful action to confront America's gun violence epidemic, Indiana elementary school teachers were reportedly shot "execution-style" with plastic pellets in an active shooter drill led by law enforcement.
"Outrageous. Unacceptable. We don't have to live like this."
—Moms Demand Action
According to the Indianapolis Star, several teachers at a time "were asked by local law enforcement to kneel down against a classroom wall before being sprayed across their backs with plastic pellets without warning."
"They told us, 'This is what happens if you just cower and do nothing,'" a teacher who experienced the January drill told the Indy Star. "They shot all of us across our backs. I was hit four times. It hurt so bad."
Journalist David Klion contrasted Indiana's active shooter drill with New Zealand's rapid and decisive response to the Christchurch massacre:
In New Zealand, they respond to a mass shooting by banning semi-automatics five days later.
In America, we respond to near-daily mass shootings by... literally shooting teachers https://t.co/FDLc8mN9lL
— David Klion (@DavidKlion) March 21, 2019
During testimony before the state's Senate Education Committee this week, officials from the Indiana State Teachers Association (ISTA)—which is demanding an end to drills in which teachers are shot with projectiles of any kind—said educators were left with bruises and welts from the drill.
In some cases, according to the ISTA, the pellets drew blood.
During active shooter drill, four teachers at a time were taken into a room, told to crouch down and were shot execution style with some sort of projectiles - resulting in injuries to the extent that welts appeared, and blood was drawn.
— Indiana State Teachers Association (@ISTAmembers) March 20, 2019
The teachers were terrified, but were told not to tell anyone what happened. Teachers waiting outside that heard the screaming were brought into the room four at a time and the shooting process was repeated.
— Indiana State Teachers Association (@ISTAmembers) March 20, 2019
Reacting with horror to Indiana teachers' testimony, gun control advocates characterized the state's active shooter drill as an "outrageous" example of what America's educators are being forced to accept as one school shooting after another takes place without any action from Congress.
"Active-shooter training has become a macabre ritual for educators in America's public school system," noted Rolling Stone's Tim Dickinson.
"We don't have to live like this," Moms Demand Action declared, calling for "sensible solutions to the gun violence crisis."
Outrageous. Unacceptable.
We don’t have to live like this. Join the millions of Americans demanding SENSIBLE solutions to the gun violence crisis. Text READY to 644-33 to volunteer with Moms Demand Action. https://t.co/cY5kW8Dge7
— Moms Demand Action (@MomsDemand) March 21, 2019
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) listed several concrete legislative step that could be taken to confront mass shootings "instead of training children, teachers, houses of faith, and concertgoers to prep for being shot":
You know, instead of training children, teachers, houses of faith, & concertgoers to prep for being shot, we could just:
-Pass Universal Background checks (#HR8!)
-Disarm domestic abusers
-Mandate safe storage
-Ban bump stocks, semiautos, & high cap mags designed to kill people https://t.co/5SaLxEfYBT— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) March 22, 2019
Praising the swift action this week in New Zealand to ban assault rifles, Kris Brown, the president of the gun control advocacy group Brady, said Thursday it is now well past time for U.S. lawmakers to follow suit.
"We have an opportunity to pass common-sense legislation that will expand background checks, enact extreme risk laws, and ban assault weapons at home," Brown said. "We must do so immediately. We must make sure that no community feels the pain that Christchurch, Parkland, Las Vegas, Orlando, Sutherland Springs, Sandy Hook, and so many others have been through. We too must take action, not sides."
