Nina Denson, San Gabriel, California school principal put on admin leave for holding ‘disturbing’ un-authorized shooting drill at elementary school. Educator pretended to be the gunman shooting at kids as young as four years old.
If an actual school shooting doesn’t kill or harm your kids, maybe a mock drill will…
A California school principal was placed on administrative leave after witnesses said she held an un-authorised active shooter drill at a San Gabriel elementary school in which students were left traumatised.
The incident happened at Washington Elementary on Wednesday and involved Nina Denson, a woman who joined the school as principal in Fall 2023.
‘Boom you’re dead!’
Children and parents decried the ‘inappropriate series of actions’ by Denson during the lockdown drill, which included the educator at one point saying aloud, ‘Boom you’re dead!’
‘She proceeded to walk around campus and pretended to shoot people she saw using finger movements and banging on windows,’ said Jennifer Chavez, a parent, talking to KTLA.
Employees said Denson even announced that seven students were ‘killed’ in the mock drill.
Some of the kids who witnessed the terrifying incident were reportedly as young as 4 years old.
‘Can you imagine the trauma these children potentially could go through just thinking, ‘Oh my God, my friend was killed’ or ‘I was shot and told I died,’’ another parent, Anna Bustamante, told KTLA.
‘At the young age that these children are, it was very upsetting,’ she added.
‘I don’t want her back here at all,’
District Superintendent Jim Symonds who decried the drill as ‘disturbing,’ said the drill was unauthorized.
‘This type of drill where a scenario was run is not approved by the district nor part of our district protocol,’ he told KTLA
The district reportedly told parents in an email: ‘The conduct of the drill does not appear to have been in line with District protocols or best practices.’
It has launched an investigation and a veteran teacher took over as interim principal.
Parents are now calling for Denson to be ousted.
‘I don’t want her back here at all,’ Chavez told KTLA. ‘She does not have the trust of the community.’
Counsellors were made available for students and employees who may have been traumatized.
Not immediately clear is what inspired the educator having the impromptu mock school shooting drill.
