'Mom Will Find You': US Mom Teaches 5-Year Old Son 'Steps To Follow' During A School Shooting
Cassie Walton from Oklahoma has gone viral for her illustrative videos showing her performing active shooter drills with her five-year-old son.
In the wake of the Robb Elementary School massacre in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24, which claimed the lives of 19 kids and two teachers, schools across the United States are reopening this year with a greater focus on security.
Even with these safety measures, the new school year has left parents anxious and tense about their kids' safety.
Reuters
To be better prepared for the worst scenarios, Cassie Walton from Oklahoma has gone viral for her illustrative videos showing her performing active shooter drills with her five-year-old son.
Agencies
The recent shootings hit home for Cassie as both the Fourth of July massacre and the Uvalde school shooting happened close to her home.
In an interview with The Independent, Cassie revealed that she used drills she learned in school to teach her 5-year-old son.
Reuters
She is introducing the ALICE principles to her son in light of the increasing number of elementary school shootings in the US. ALICE refers to Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, and Evacuate.
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Walton highlighted the need for having these conversations with children as it is "happening everywhere" and said that her son, Weston, understands the urgency of learning the drill and has "taken the information very well."
She is heard in the video asking Weston what to do when a teacher directs students to recede to a corner and be quiet and calm.
Later, she quizzes her son about what he would do in the case of a shooting in the school, and he hears a police officer inquiring whether anyone was inside the room while reminding him to "remain very silent."
Screengrab
Cassie also trains Weston how to use a bulletproof backpack after finding the same on TikTok.
Mom teaches her 5-year-old son what to do if there's ever an active shooter in his school. pic.twitter.com/ZfR2kISkxu
¡ª CBS News (@CBSNews) August 17, 2022
Walton uploaded a video on TikTok of herself guiding her kid through an active shooter drill at home just a few days before his kindergarten debut. Cassie's videos have gone viral on social media and received overwhelming support from parents around the US.
The video resurfaced on Twitter, and reacting to it, netizens shared their honest feelings.
This is not normal:https://t.co/o3dFM1fSuy
¡ª DelBhoy. (@RealDelBhoyCFC) August 21, 2022
Still fucks me up that I grew up thinking everyone in the world did Active Shooter drills at school, until I realised it was because I went to American international schools https://t.co/3hscRWRVfQ
¡ª ?who-liu? ? (@uuliuu) August 18, 2022
Sometimes we need a friend who has a comfortable distance from us to tell us what we're doing wrong. A different point of view, you could say.
¡ª Irish Emergency Logistics Team ?? (@irishelt) August 18, 2022
USA. My friend. This is completely f@@ked up. It's not normal. No other country in the world needs to treat their kids as warzone fodder https://t.co/4WXfTXmRYS
How the HELL are American parents living like this? These poor kids. https://t.co/fBhRDqN8vE
¡ª Louise McSharry (@louisemcsharry) August 18, 2022
What a disgusting, backwards nation to let this kind of thing become necessary. Just hit reset and start the whole country again. https://t.co/QtNgioOX0h
¡ª Couch Nish (@CouchNish) August 18, 2022
If I found myself having to teach my child to do this because they might get shot in school, I'd move my family to another country. https://t.co/TsRSqTgfh7
¡ª Ois¨ªn McGann (@OisinMcGann) August 17, 2022
¡°Now show me how you use your bulletproof backpack.¡±
¡ª Scott Charles (@TheScottCharles) August 17, 2022
Congratulations, America, we¡¯re officially a shithole country. https://t.co/zicTGLSikJ
That¡¯s kinda sad he has to learn that so young https://t.co/FYvJwJLPuV
¡ª Elli Jung (@elli_jung23) August 17, 2022
We shouldn¡¯t have to teach this. https://t.co/28b64tcxHC
¡ª Audra Volpi (@audravolpi) August 18, 2022
America is broken beyond repair. https://t.co/VSkJcGBDzO
¡ª Marky Mark¡¯s Prosthetic Cock?? (@scoju621311) August 17, 2022
A 5 Year old with a bulletproof backpack. How could they let it come to this? https://t.co/eUizidnel4
¡ª Gigoer (@JimmyREMfan) August 17, 2022
This is so sad https://t.co/jb57uwh2et
¡ª Clifton Louis Baradell (@cbharra) August 17, 2022
?? that a child has to learn this ?? https://t.co/BPfwfMyxiP
¡ª Sharon Rupp (@SIRSherry) August 17, 2022
This is so disturbing. In many ways. https://t.co/EqpKcAgGjm
¡ª Garrett Stewart ? #100Devs (@GretSeat) August 17, 2022
Back to school! Crayons, pencils¡and don¡¯t forget your bulletproof backpack. ? https://t.co/mSv95AGN1p
¡ª Lucy Loo ? (@LucyLoo_1837) August 18, 2022
Over 1 million people have liked Walton's video on TikTok.
According to AFP, a video of the Texas school shooting in Uvalde reveals police taking more than an hour to enter a classroom where a shooter killed 19 students and two teachers.
The public safety chief for Texas, Steve McCraw, described the police reaction to the attack on May 24 as an "abject failure" and said that officers wasted precious time searching for a classroom key that was "not even needed."
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