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Duson Elementary teachers receive Active Shooter Training

Posted at 6:02 PM, May 23, 2018
and last updated 2018-05-23 19:02:55-04

Teachers at Duson Elementary are on summer break as of Wednesday, but that is after spending the day playing the role of a student. 

The teachers received a course in active shooting training. The Duson Police Department, along with other other officials, gathered to make the training a success. 

It was a training no one necessarily wanted to attend, but in light of recent events, it was necessary now more than ever. 

The principal of Duson Elementary, Connie Fontenot, didn’t expect the training to stir up so many emotions. 

"It could happen anywhere. It could happen here at Duson. I know that you love your family and that you love your students here just as much as I do. so God forbid anything like this to happen. I do feel like we are a little bit more prepared, and that was the purpose of this," Fontenot said. 

The purpose, many teachers understood. They said they wish training like these weren’t necessary. The teachers heard, saw, and smelled both a shotgun and a handgun. Officers fired from outside the school, in the hallways and even in the library, directly in front of the teachers. 

Duson Police Chief Kip Judice said he was glad to offer the service to educators.  

"In the environment and in the world we live in today, we think that it’s important that educators know what’s the difference between a car backfiring in the street and a gun in the hallway. So this was an opportunity for us to educate the educators in regards to what that looked like and what that smelled like… and to take in the actual experience," Judice said. 

Duson Elementary School does not currently have a school resource officer on campus. The Assistant Principal, Jon Downs, said they still take extreme measures to keep themselves and their students safe. 

"What we do is. we drill twice a year for active training and other incidents on campus. We do keep our entrance and exit doors locked and our classroom doors locked. We are very aware 24/7 of whats going on, on our campus," Downs said.