More from CafeMom: Hero Student Took 5 Bullets While Barricading a Classroom Door to Save 20 Friends The boy explained that he agreed to do this after the teacher asked for volunteers. When his mom asked him why he volunteered to risk his life so readily, the fifth grader had a striking, heartbreaking answer: “If it came down to it, I would rather be the one that died protecting my friends then have an entire class die and I be the only one that lived.” “Lockdown protocol, I’m not allowed to open the door once it is closed. Say I pulled students into my room and I have 20, 30, 40, 50 students in here. Then two kids come running up and banging on my closed door to please let them in. I have no idea who those kids are, if they have guns, if they are truly innocent. Protocol takes the decision away from me so I don’t have to make it, but basically I’m not allowed to open my door and risk the lives of everyone in my room," revealed teacher Hannah Sellers in a viral post on Facebook. “It’s a horrible position to be in, especially if those couple students are innocent but I can’t sacrifice the students in my room and run that risk…” But their most important — and horrifying — feature was “hot zones,” a “secret weapon” that allows police to deploy smoke cannons hidden in the ceilings to disorient possible shooters. The high school’s intensive security system cost about $400,000, but school officials firmly believe that the money spent was “worth it.” More from CafeMom: Why This Aunt Wants Kids to Always Have a Doorstop in Their School Backpacks Even if protocols are followed perfectly, the cover of textbooks and desks may not stand up to weapons designed to kill. “I cannot keep children safe by following protocol. I lie to my students every time we have a lockdown drill, telling them that if they stay silent and I keep the door locked they’ll be safe. It’s not true.”
