(Photo Credit: TowerPinkster)

Fruitport High School is combating mass shootings

A new high school in Fruitport, Michigan, is designed with the potential for a school shooting in mind. The school allows classrooms doors to lock down at the push of a button and has curved hallways to make it more difficult for shooters to spot potential victims. There are even barricades in the hallway for students to hide behind.

“This building will be the safest, most secure building in the state of Michigan when it opens,” the superintendent of Fruitport schools, Bob Szymoniak, said. “Our ask is that our community be very understanding, keep the eyes on the prize because when our high school is done, it’s going [to] be magnificent.”

The new school design comes in response to devastating school shootings like the one in Parkland, Florida, that killed nineteen students in February 2018. However, gun control activists are not happy with the response from school districts, saying bulletproof glass and barricades are not the solutions–gun control is.

Last week, Nicole Hockley, whose youngest son was killed in the school shooting at Sandy Hook, wrote a column for Newsweek titled, “My son was murdered at Sandy Hook. Bulletproof backpacks aren’t the best way to protect our kids.”

“Is this where we are now? Is it normal to consider a flak jacket as a back-to-school essential?” Hockley asked. “Where do we draw the line? Will the newest designer fashions include bulletproof jackets and dresses for church, handbags for a night out and tote bags for shopping with your children at the farmers market or grocery store?… I know the epidemic of violence sweeping our nation cannot be solved overnight. I know that reacting to a tragedy is different from taking action to prevent it. And I also know that the more we stall, the more people will die. That’s why we need to focus on prevention.”