A few days ago (June 9,2022), a man tried to enter Walnut Park Elementary School in Gadsden, Alabama. He tried at least two doors but couldn’t get in. Inside were approximately 34 students participating in a literacy summer camp. The school went to a lockdown and called police. The SRO responded immediately and found the man trying to make forcible entry into a marked police car near the school. When confronted, a fight ensued and the man attempted to wrestle away the officer’s gun. The officer called for assistance. Another officer arrived and the man was shot and pronounced dead at the scene. The SRO was treated for minor injuries and released.

There is no word if the man had a gun or what his intentions were with the school. There are a lot of things that are unknown. I’d like to focus on what is known.

Someone tried to enter the school and was stopped because the doors were locked.

Keeping your doors locked is called exterior access control and it’s one of the 3 things you must do to keep your school safe. You must 1) supervise your space and the people in the space, 2) control who can enter and leave your space (access control), and 3) you must clearly define your boundaries and in doing so help to send a very clear message of ownership. Ownership tells potential offenders that you care about what happens here, you won’t allow any unwanted behavior, and you’re not an easy target.

There is also interior access control. That’s locking your inside doors like classrooms.

A locked door is a layer of safety. The more layers you have the safer your school. A layer is something that an offender must contend with or overcome. All layers are not the same. Your staff wearing a badge is a layer of safety but it’s nothing like a locked door. A locked exterior door or a locked classroom door is one of your best layers and here we see its true value. A person was stopped from entering the school. We don’t know yet what he wanted, his intentions, or why he was trying to get in. We don’t even know if his purpose was nefarious. We just know he was stopped by locked doors.

The threat that is closest to you is the greatest threat. Locked doors provide you with space (an object) and distance from potential danger. I know it seems simple and sometimes a pain in the neck to lock doors, especially with young children, but the reward far outweighs the hassle.

A man was stopped from entering a school with 34 children because the doors were locked.

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