A woman who teaches Grade 8 students near the school where 17 were shot dead in Parkland, Fla., says it鈥檚 not her job to carry a gun in case of an active shooter situation.
Circe Burnett, who works at a school in Boca Raton, says there鈥檚 simply no way she or any other teacher can be properly trained for an event like the one that happened at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Feb. 14. A lone gunman used a semi-automatic rifle to massacre 17 students and teachers at the high school, and injured more than a dozen others.
鈥淲e are not prepared for when someone is in your classroom (with a gun),鈥� Burnett told 麻豆传媒 Channel on Tuesday. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 a situation that you cannot prepare for, and I don鈥檛 think it鈥檚 my role to be prepared for it.鈥� She added that the school has security guards who are trained to keep children safe.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a situation we should be trying to prevent.鈥�
The shooting has sparked loud calls for lawmakers to tighten laws around gun control, although pro-gun elements in the U.S. have suggested that arming the teachers might have averted the slaughter.
鈥淧lease don鈥檛 give me a gun,鈥� Burnett said on Tuesday. 鈥淚 have enough jobs. I do not want a gun.鈥�
She added that things haven鈥檛 been the same at her school since the shooting.
Burnett first learned of the incident via email at the end of the school day.
鈥淚 told (students) dismissal today will look different. There has been a shooting nearby,鈥� she said. Burnett then lifted her classroom ban on cellphones and allowed the students to contact their loved ones.
鈥淚 watched the students call their families and worry about friends nearby,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 when the whole atmosphere of the school changed. It hasn鈥檛 been the same since.鈥�
Many survivors from the mass shooting nearby have become vocal advocates for gun control, and are poised to stage a walk-out next month. The movement is expected to sweep across the United States.
Burnett brought her students outside Tuesday for a moment of silence at the principal鈥檚 request. She says she was 鈥渇loored鈥� by how respectful and serious her students were about it.
However, the class was gripped with apprehension shortly afterward, as they returned to class to learn that there was a code yellow in effect.
鈥淭he kids were so shaken from what we had just thought about,鈥� she said. 鈥淚mmediately you start getting all the questions 鈥� 鈥榃hat鈥檚 happening?鈥� 鈥� and I didn鈥檛 know.鈥�
A code yellow requires students to stay in their classrooms with their teachers until the alert is lifted.
Nikolas Cruz, 19, has been charged with 17 counts of first-degree murder in connection with the Valentine鈥檚 Day shooting.
