Kelly Haaland, Superintendant of Big Sandy Schools, said, “I was at the elementary (school) and received a call about ten minutes to twelve. Someone had written on a girl’s bathroom stall, ‘Shooting at 1:00’. I came over to the high school and told everyone we were in a lock down status, called 911, looked at the videos, and interviewed some girls. I’ve had training, but this is the first real shut down I have participated in.”

Big Sandy High School has a policy concerning a shutdown and they followed it exactly. Every student has practiced a shutdown. This time there was a few students in the hallways and they were grabbed and put into the nearest classroom. News traveled fast as students texted their parents they were in a classroom locked down for real. Although everyone has practiced this real situation caused some real fear.

In Big Sandy, probably none of this is news to anyone, but the Mountaineer felt it was important to hear the facts and not just the “traveling voice news”

Three sheriff’s deputies came to the high school. Jeremy Echols, who lives in Big Sandy was there at the high school within one minute and the other two deputies and two highway patrolmen arrived within 15 minutes.

Kelly Haaland said he has always been “Cautiously optimistic that it would not happen, but our training has been done a number of times and has sadly prepared us.”

One teenage student has been suspended from school and is waiting to be legally charged as well.