Vacaville Students Go Through Campus Intruder Drill
By Kelly Ryan
VACAVILLE (CBS13) – Students in the Vacaville Unified School District were ready for a drill on Thursday but weren't sure when it would happen.
That's because it was a campus intruder drill and the district wanted to evaluate just how students and staff would do.
These drills have a couple of times a year. The district want to make sure everyone knows exactly to do and where they need to go in the event of a lockdown.
"This drill simulates something bad happening on campus," Sgt. Todd Dye with the Vacaville Police Department said.
Vacaville Unified School District picked this day to practice what should be done in the event if a campus intruder.
"I knew it was going to happen but I didn't know when so it kind of took me off guard," a student says.
Student Brooklyn Robertson was in a parking lot when the drill began, she ran into a small back room nearby.
"There were like 40 of us just shoved in there," Robertson said.
Over at Eugene Padan Elementary School, students also practiced.
The standard drill protocol used by the district was developed by the "I Love U Guys" Foundation and started after a school hostage event in Bailey, Colorado in 2006.
"We want them to get in a classroom lock the door and turn off the lights and be out of view so if there was an intruder they couldn't find anybody," Sgt. Dye said.
Principal Ed Santopadre says intruder drills have been practiced for some years now to make sure students and staff know exactly what to do.
"There's always the old fire drills that we used to do these have taken on a new meaning," Santopadre said.
And these drills aren't just for students. Officials say parents need to practice steering clear of campus to avoid more confusion.
