Several students at an Ohio middle school were injured this week during an active shooter drill, according to the school’s principal.
Fox 19 in Cincinnati reports that the incident happened at ]New Richmond Middle School in New Richmond, Ohio, during an "ALICE" drill, which stands for "alert, lockdown, inform, counter and evacuate."
The school says it uses the drill to simulate an active-shooter crisis in the building.
First an alarm sounded in the school’s cafeteria during first lunch period, then Principal Court Lilly appeared.
“I pose as the active shooter,” Lilly wrote in a letter sent home to parents. “I utilize air horns to simulate the noise level that would take place in a real event.”
But apparently not all students knew what to do and where to go.
“Students were unclear of what kind of evacuation procedure to follow when leaving the cafeteria,” Lilly wrote, “which resulted in a chaotic few moments.”
During these "chaotic" moments, the principal says a few students fell to the ground and sustained bumps and bruise. One student reportedly got a cut on her eyebrow.
Representatives from the New Richmond Fire Department and Emergency Medical Services and the Clermont County Sheriff’s Department were on hand during the drill. The county says EMTs treated two students on the scene.
“It is regrettable that any students would ever be harmed while in our care, so I first and foremost want to apologize for putting them in that position,” Lilly wrote.
“It is obvious,” he continued, “that we need to develop an effective evacuation plan for the number of students in our cafeteria."
