http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/11/16/pa ... own-drill/
Parents furious over Florida school's surprise 'active shooter' drill
An unannounced “active shooter drill” at a Florida middle school left teachers and students frightened and confused, and has angered parents who say police and administrators terrified their children.
The Thursday morning drill at Jewett Middle Academy in Winter Haven began when the school principal announced the school was going on lockdown. Winter Haven police officers then burst into classrooms brandishing guns, including an unloaded AR-15 rifle, to check on students huddled in the dark. Teachers were also clueless a drill was taking place.
“All of sudden there was a gun barrel,” 8th-grader Xavier Tate told "Fox & Friends"Sunday, describing what he saw from his classroom. “We didn’t know it was a drill. We thought it was a gunman (coming) right through the door.”
“It was very scary,” he said......
The school informed parents of the drill afterward. A spokesman for the Polk County Schools told MyFox Tampa Bay that it’s standard procedure for these types of drills to take place without giving parents, students or teachers advanced warning. In a statement the school district said “we regret any concern that parents and students might have experienced.”
Winter Haven Police Chief Charlie Bird also defended the drill, saying, “it really is to protect the children.”
On Friday Bird announced that future lockdown drills will be conducted by uniformed officers without weapons.