As America Hits Milestone of 1,000 Incidents of Gunfire at Schools, Officials Seek Better Ways to Protect Students

PORT SAINT LUCIE, Fla., December 20, 2022 (Newswire.com) - As the United States hits the alarming milestone of 1,000 incidents of gunfire in schools in the last decade, school officials are looking for better ways to protect children, including in-classroom safety pods from National Safety Shelters.

Despite traditional safety measures like security guards, metal detectors, pat-downs and more, armed assailants are penetrating school security perimeters and gaining access to classrooms, with deadly consequences. Everytown for Gun Safety, a respected group working to reduce gun violence, reports that this year, U.S. schools reached 1,000 shooting incidents since the group began compiling data in 2013. 

Those shootings resulted in 331 deaths and 698 injuries, in addition to creating pervasive anxiety and fear: Only 31% of parents of children in grades K-12 say they feel their kids are safe at school.

Teachers say that schools and classrooms provide little protection in the case of an active shooter.

"It's heartbreaking that teachers themselves describe students and faculty as 'sitting ducks' in the classroom," said Dennis Corrado, founder and president of National Safety Shelters. "Some school leaders are recognizing they need to provide better protection, and as a result, we're seeing a sharp increase in inquiries and purchases of safety pods from school districts across the country."

The Final Report of the Federal Commission on School Safety recommends that schools should "seek to create secure spaces within classrooms where students and teachers can shelter in case of an active shooter." National Safety Shelters' classroom pods offer precisely that - immediate and unbreachable "secure spaces within classrooms," with walls made of quarter-inch American-made NIJ Ballistic Level III steel - a material that can withstand the intensity of semi-automatic weapons.

Some school districts are taking these proactive measures and attracting the attention of safety-minded parents. After the Quitman School District in Quitman, Arkansas, invested in National Safety Shelters pods in all their classrooms, enrollment went up 20%.

Quitman superintendent Dennis Truxler recommends to all administrators and school boards that they "seriously consider adding classroom shelters to their schools" as a safety net against active shooters.

To learn more about protecting your school, visit https://nationalsafetyshelters.com. 

About National Safety Shelters

National Safety Shelters offers Safety Pods, Safety Shelters, and Safe Rooms for instant protection from armed intruders, EF5 tornadoes, bomb threats, and even earthquakes. Visit https://nationalsafetyshelters.com to learn how National Safety Shelters can protect your school.

Source: National Safety Shelters