OMAHA, Neb. — A 17-year-old is now facing charges after allegedly shooting another teen outside of Burke High School Wednesday morning before class was in session.
In a letter sent to families following that shooting, Superintendent Matthew Ray said that he "saw how calmly and professionally students and staff followed our Standard Response Protocol."
We sat down with district officials on Wednesday to break down that protocol and the district's response.
According to OPS's Chief Officer of Student and Community Services Lisa Utterback, administration placed the school in "secure mode."
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Student left injured after shooting at Burke High School
It's a move that occurs when an incident happens outside of the school, and situations can range from a "loose dog on a campus to a situation like today," Utterback said.
During that time, no one is let in or out of the building.
Grant Hewitt is a school safety specialist for OPS. He said that school administration first became aware of the situation unfolding outside of its doors around 7:35 a.m., and placed the school in secure just minutes after at 7:40 a.m.
We asked Hewitt if he thought five minutes was an appropriate amount of time in between becoming aware of a situation and securing the school.
"Each situation is different," he said. "When they're getting called over for a student medical, that doesn't immediately notify them that they're walking into a gunshot victim. So it does take time to work through the process, understand what's going on, and then make sure all the correct people are notified."
Hewitt said that the student was arrested at 7:50 a.m., and the secure mode was lifted at 8:15 a.m.
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