Christian school arms staff to protect students from active shooter threats

A fully accredited private Christian school in Iowa recently announced that some of its staff members will be armed while on campus in an effort to protect teachers and students from active shooter events.

Siouxland Christian School in Sioux City, Iowa, sent a letter to parents last week detailing the changes. The school’s superintendent, Lindsay Laurich, explained that the preschool-through-12th-grade institution has been working on training and arming staff for the past year. However, the superintendent noted that she did not arrive at the decision easily.

In an active shooter situation, armed staff members, who will remain anonymous, have been trained to go directly toward the threat to allow teachers and students to get to a safe position while waiting for law enforcement to arrive on the scene.

The school has not revealed how many school employees have opted to participate in the program. The armed staff members were selected by the school board and administration.

In a letter sent home to parents, Laurich wrote, “It is an unfortunate reality that schools have become the target of those who wish to do evil. Around our nation and sadly more close to home we see threats emerging on a regular basis.”

Just last week, a trans-identifying 17-year-old student at Perry Middle and High School in Perry, Iowa, opened fire on children and staff, resulting in the death of Ahmir Jolliff, an 11-year-old boy, Blaze News previously reported. Four other students and school employees were injured.

Laurich addressed the recent shooting in her letter, stating, “We pray for the community of Perry, Iowa, which experienced an active shooter event yesterday.”

She noted that it is “essential” for the school to take additional steps to protect its students and staff amid the increase in threats.

“Starting next week, certain members of SCS staff who have been specifically trained will be armed on campus,” Laurich added.

The school consulted law enforcement, its insurance carriers, legal advisers, and industry experts when putting together the training.

“The staff who have been selected and trained will remain anonymous, and with God’s help this layer of protection will never need to be deployed. We expect no changes to the day to day experiences of students and staff,” Laurich told parents.

“On a personal note, I want you to know that this decision was a difficult one,” she continued. “When I entered the teaching profession it was unimaginable that someone would shoot students and teachers in a school. But the landscape has changed. If a tragic event were to occur at SCS, I need to be able to stand in front of you and say that we have done all that we can do. This is a necessary step we must take.”

Laurich told Fox News Digital that since she sent the email to parents last week, there have been another four incidents and seven victims.

“That adds up to more days than we have been back in school since the new year began,” she stated.

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