Most students were on campus on Wednesday, April 4 during seventh period when the school went on lockdown. This was in response to a call to the police department that reported that there was an active shooter on campus. Almost immediately, the police were able to debunk this report, and the CSPD twitter posted that although the department was sending police officers to the school in order to ensure the safety of students and staff, there was no active shooter. Coronado went on lockdown for roughly twenty minutes after the report was filed, and the lockdown was lifted before the final bell for the day rang at 2:59. School Resource Officer Mr. Thomson, said that “the school acted safely and appropriately with the law enforcement,” in response to the threat, and that they went on lockdown “for the safety of students and everyone else,” as is protocol.

Interviews given to KRDO from anonymous students revealed that many people on campus did not know what was happening, and felt confused and frightened. All of us have sat through lockdown drills before, but given recent events with school shootings, very few of us are comfortable taking chances, which Coronado proved on Monday, April 9. After a threat was posted on Snapchat referencing “CHS,” word got out and fewer people showed up to school on Monday, despite the threat having been confirmed to be from a student in New Mexico. Michaela Miles, 11, missed school due to the threat. She heard about the threat, she says, when her “friends all of a sudden sent me messages and screenshots saying ‘please be safe.’” She decided that staying home would be “for the best because even if it was somewhere else… someone else could have gotten an idea from that.” Thankfully, the threat wasn’t aimed at Coronado High School in Colorado Springs, but Michaela says that the threat still crossed a boundary and that she “felt heartbroken that somebody would do that.” All the students know that Coronado High School, District 11, and the Colorado Springs Police Department did their best to keep students safe, but Michaela also notes that other measures should be implemented in addition to the safety measures. “I feel like the school itself, when there’s issues like this, instead of being super off about it and not talking to us about these issues, they should,” she said, making the point that it was a scary idea for both the students who did go to school and those who didn’t that there might be a threat. Students want to be informed about the issues that affect them so that they can continue to feel safe at school.