June 19, 2013
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) -- Police in one Alabama city have a new method for dealing with intruders who get inside schools buildings: They're teaching teachers and students to fight back.
School systems typically tell workers and students to lock every possible door and hide if an intruder enters a classroom building. But Tuscaloosa schools have started a program with city police in which employees and students are being trained to fight back if necessary.
A high school principal tells The Tuscaloosa News the training centers on running, throwing things at intruders and restraining them. She says it differs from past training that concentrated on locking-down schools and hiding.
A school resource supervisor, police Lt. A.B. Green, says educators and students need to know how to defend themselves if intruders get inside a school.
