School lockdown in Saco causes frightening situation

On Friday, February 9, Saco witnessed a scene similar to many that have played out on countless days, places and schools across the United States, where “This Never Happens.”

Parents wait for their students to be released from the school under the supervision of local police outside Thornton Academy after police activity in the Saco, Maine area on February 9. Saco police on Friday afternoon asked residents to stay at designated locations while searching for a suspect after a gunfight and vehicle accident at a busy intersection prompted a brief school lockdown across the city. They were asked to evacuate to a location. Charles Krupa/Associated Press

what happened? According to news reports, two cars driving through downtown Saco spun out firing at each other and crashed into a school bus on Route 1. Video recorded by a witness shows three men jumping out of one car and running through stopped traffic. Until they take off in the direction of Thornton Academy.

If that wasn’t confusing and scary enough, schools have moved to shelter-in-place and then complete lockdown.

I received the first e-mail about sheltering in place at 12:20 p.m., as I was picking up my youngest daughter from Massabesic Middle School. To be honest about life in America in 2024, it was nothing but an inconvenience. She may have to wait a little while, as her daughter, who attends Thornton Academy, was scheduled to be released at 1:20 p.m. no problem. It will be a nice time to sit and spend time with your youngest child. Any father with a pre-teen child would welcome it.

When my daughter and I arrived in Saco, the police presence exceeded our expectations. A student at Thornton Academy texted me from inside the school and said there was vague information about a “hijacking” and “shots fired” and that he was being held in the cafeteria.

There is no need to tell your parents about the feelings that are beginning to emerge.

Police stood on the Thornton campus with machine guns. A police SUV blocked the road. The intersection was closed. Parents began gathering on street corners, parking lots, and wherever police could keep them close without moving them.

At 1:23 p.m., the school went into complete lockdown. Her daughter was herded into the cafeteria kitchen, away from windows and doors. She sent a photo of her students standing in a brightly lit kitchen. Everything seemed fine, but I could feel the tension building in her messages.

Cell phone service is difficult to obtain in Saco. My daughter and I drove to the park and used our phones to figure out what was going on. No official news was announced, but moms on Facebook were taking it seriously. We learned about the accident (we had been in a car accident before, but we didn’t know it had led to an accident), the men were on the run, and the fact that they were on the run. I did.

My daughter was still in the kitchen and I felt unsafe, so I drove back to Thornton Academy. Like many parents, the idea of ​​being nearby if something terrible happened provided some comfort and control. I had this irrational idea that maybe I could do something. anything.

When we arrived in the neighborhood, the police circle had expanded further. We were directed by the police to a Walgreens where we waited with little cell phone service to receive news.

At 2:02 p.m., I received another text informing me that the lockdown was continuing. Her daughter was transferred to the theater after receiving instructions from her school, and the temperature began to drop. It began to become clear that the men running from the car were probably just scared young men running for their lives, and that the school had no intentions. Is there anything more frightening than people holding guns and being frightened?

By 2:45 p.m., the lockdown had been changed to shelter-in-place. The Walgreens parking lot was full. Worried parents stood through the night searching for their children across the street for good news and answers. The police were great. They helped direct traffic, accompanied concerned parents, and remained silent when questioned. Machine guns were still slung over their shoulders, but it seemed like that was all they had to do.

Thornton gradually released the students. Students who drive to school were allowed to get off the train. Wide-eyed students filed out of the campus in long lines. As students on foot started trickling out, special education students were escorted by parents and guardians in the parking lot, tears were shed, and finally around 5:30 p.m., I watched my daughter rush out of the parking lot. I could see him walking across the street towards me. The watchful eyes of the Saco police.

I don’t need to tell the parents reading this the image that Friday conjured up in my mind. I texted my ex-wife about her feelings when Sandy Hook happened. I remembered walking to pick up her same daughter from her kindergarten class in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. And back in those quaint days, I was allowed to walk from the school hallway to her classroom and remembered the eerie silence and eager, innocent faces. The news footage still echoes in my head, and I can’t help but cry.

I felt the same way when I was driving home with my current second year student. A daughter who has just realized that her hard work is important and she is making plans for an incredibly bright future. The child I lost in adolescence has only recently returned to being the fun-loving, quick-to-laugh, joke-filled, smart kid I raised.

she was fine. She is happy to go home. I’m happy to be able to eat donuts at the cafeteria. She also got a selfie of her titled ‘Lockdown Buddies’ from her and her friends. Children are resilient, right? Perhaps there’s a flood of emotions lurking there waiting to be released, but she’s an American elementary school student. Lockdown drills are a given. School shootings are commonplace.

I wish I had an answer. Just the next day, someone was shot and killed in Bangor, and we all have Robert Card in our not-so-distant memories. But Maine is a great place to live. that’s right. Please find a better place to live and raise your children.

I work remotely and talk to many people all over the world about dirt roads, lakes, deer, and quiet nights. But then America came along. America is not good. America is sick. America is angry. We desperately need to keep temperatures down so Friday afternoons like last week don’t become the norm. As it stands, Childish Gambino predicted, “This is America.”

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