A school lockdown saved students' lives during a mass shooting in Northern California

A mass shooting on Tuesday in Rancho Tehama Reserve, California, could have been worse if school administrators had not put the elementary school on lockdown.The shooting started before the first bell of the day rang.Students, parents, and teachers rushed into classrooms, locked doors, and sheltered in place under desks.Active shooter lockdown drills are controversial because they scare children, but in this case the lockdown saved lives.School administrators in Rancho Tehama Reserve, California, apparently saved young students lives when they put the elementary school on lockdown amidTuesday mornings mass shooting.During the 45-minute string of shootings at seven locations throughout the Northern California subdivision, two children were injured, but no students were among those killed by gunman Kevin Janson Neal (whose identity wasconfirmed by theSacramento Bee).Tehama County Assistant SheriffPhil Johnston saidthe school lockdown prevented what could have been a far greater tragedy: The quick action of those school officials, there is no doubt in my mind, saved countless lives.Rancho Tehama School, which has an enrollment of around 100 students, was one stop in the middle of the shooters seemingly random rampage. (Update, 1:53 p.m.: The sheriffs office announced that Nealfirst killed his wifeand hid her body in their home.)According tonationalandlocalreports, Neal shot two neighbors with whom hed been feuding, including a woman who had a restraining order against him for a previous violent attack, then sped away in a stolen truck.The bell had not rang, roll had not been taken, when the shots were heard, said Corning Union Elementary School District Superintendent Richard Fitzpatrick.Students, parents, and teachers rushed into classrooms, locked doors, and sheltered in place under desks.This was a question of minutes, Fitzpatrick added.Neal crashed his vehicle through the school gates but was unable to enter classrooms, so he stayed outside the school for six minutes and fired through the windows and walls before continuing his shooting spree elsewhere and being fatally shot by law enforcement.He wounded one student, who wastaken by helicopter to a hospital.Two-thirds of schools in America practice active-shooter lockdown scenarios.While these shelter-in-place drills haveincurred controversybecause they scare children, in the case of Rancho Tehama, the lockdown procedure kept students safe.SEE ALSO:A Dartmouth professor's career took off in 2002, despite a groping allegationJoin the conversation about this storyNOW WATCH: This disturbing book teaches kindergarteners how to defend themselves against school shooters
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