I love red days. I mean seriously, I love coming to school on Red Days. I was walking with my boyfriend at the time to his class, which was World History, and I was walking to English. I was right outside the doors when a security guard grabbed me and told me to go into the library. Of course, I said in a stupid way, “Is my class in there?” Anyways, I heard someone yell really loud for everyone in the hallway to get into the library and there was a huge rush of kids coming up the stairs. I found a few of my friends and asked them what was going on. Along with everyone else, no one knew. We all got in there and everyone thought it was a drill, including me. I’ve gotten
my cell phone taken away a number of times, but after I found out this was real, I pulled it out and I started texting with about 11 different people. A few were even from other schools, telling me they were in lockdown too. After they announced that we were going to be evacuating, I got 4 phone calls. There were so many people in the library. Everyone saw police and SWAT outside in the hall. We were all so scared because of what happened with Virginia Tech.

I found out who reported it. My first thought was honestly that he was doing it for attention, but then I was thinking, “Who would seriously do that for attention?” We were all actually talking about it. How he could be making it up? But it’s not like we said anything to an adult or anything.

I think we were in the library for 3 hours. After we all got really bored, we all pulled out our phones and started taking pictures. Of course, everyone had to go to the bathroom and I saw a few people go in Gatorade bottles. It was weird, but when you gotta go, you gotta go.

I was in the very back corner of the library so I laid down next to a friend and I was probably half asleep when everyone started crowding toward the door. Honestly, I was so happy to be finally getting out of there. So we go
to the Civic Center and we’re seeing all our friends asking them if they’re okay and everything. We all crowd into the Civic Center and when Mr. Jones announced it was false, the whole auditorium moaned and gasped. It was so shocking. I’m just glad it was a hoax because that would have been really scary. My mom called me crying, and she even left work.

- Tierra

I was sitting in my desk, waiting for the bell to ring and class to begin. It’s not uncommon to have a lockdown or fire drill because it seems like we are practicing them all the time. So when Mr. Jones came on the intercom and said we need to go into lockdown, I didn’t think much of it. It seemed strange because in the hallway everyone was rushing to class. I don’t know why but I wasn’t scared at all, even when we were told a gun was sighted. The teacher shut off the lights and locked the door. Some people took out their ipod and the teacher announced that we could have our cell phones out too. I found out afterwards, that in many classes kids weren’t allowed to use their cell phones. I think that it ridiculous because that is the only way that parents could know what was going on and not freak out. I always have my cell phone with me. In fact, I’m always the person getting caught with it. But it just so happens I left it in my locker that day. How perfect. So, while everyone was texting and receiving pictures of the swat team, I could only watch and get mad at myself for not bringing it to class.

Over the intercom, the principal told the teachers to check their email for information on what was going on. I asked my teacher what it said but he wouldn’t tell us because usually we aren’t supposed to know that stuff. Of course, we were told shortly after that. You can’t expect 2,000 students to cooperate when we have no idea what’s going on. After about 5 minutes, they made an announcement that someone had been sighted with a gun but he had fled the school. We were told that the police were called but we had no idea, until later, how big of a deal this was. We turned on the news but turned the volume down really low. They were interviewing one of the cops and showing footage of the swat team surrounding the school. It seemed that we were really safe because there were people everywhere and rumors of snipers on the roofs near by.

Speaking of rumors, there was a ton. It was impossible to know what was going on because half the information we got was false. We heard there were shots at an elementary school, that the science department had been taken hostage, and that they had found the person with the gun. All of this turned out to be false. You could only trust what we were told over the intercom but they only gave announcements about every hour. On the news, they said that parents could go to a near by grocery store to get more information. I wasn’t sure if my parents would know where to go when they found out what was going on so I called my dad with a friend’s phone. He sounded worried so I told him that we were ok but I didn’t really know much more than him. My friend and I moved across the room to sit with other people. We were all really calm and no one seemed to be afraid at all.

Using the computers in the room, we went to the journal’s site and read the articles that were posted about the current situation. There is a place that you can leave comments, so we did. We thought it would be interesting for readers to see the perspective of the students inside the school. When I looked at the site after the lock down, there were nearly 100 comments. Everyone else had the same idea as we did. It was kind of weird to see that all of the cover stories were about the lockdown and Virginia Tech. It’s pretty sad that that’s all there is to talk about!

After about 2 hours the principal made an announcement that, room-by-room, people would be coming to escort us across the street to the civic center. It took forever for them to get to us! We were the one of the last departments to be evacuated so we had to wait another one and a half hours to leave. In that time we talked a lot and just hung out. Later we found out the whole thing was a hoax. There were mixed feelings about this because some people were happy that we got to miss school, others were mad that they had been so scared, and yet some people, like me, were just angry about how long we had to sit there bored. It was a crazy experience that was actually kind of fun but I definitely don’t want it to happen again.

-Kenzie

I don’t have a first block on red days, so I go to school at 9:35. On this day, I decided to wake up early and spend some time in the morning with my boyfriend. We went to breakfast, just hung out at our friend’s house until it was time for school. This day started off pretty routine. I rode back to school with my boyfriend, and that’s when things started to get a little weird. As we were driving up the road to Central we saw a cop car with its lights on…. I teased my boyfriend that “Oooo babe the cops are after you,” and we laughed about it because we didn’t think that anything serious was happening. The cop pulled into the parking lot at school, and we both thought it was weird. The thing that we both thought was more weird was then the cop blocked the entrance to the parking lot. He was getting his books out of the back of the car, and I was looking at the front of the school. There were cops all over the place, security guards at every entrance and administrators all over. I asked him what we should do and he replied, “Let’s go see what all this is about, there is something up and it’s serious.”

At this point we were about 15 minutes late for our second block because we were contemplating weather to sit in the car or to go in. Finally we decided to go to the front. About 35 feet from the door we heard the officers yelling “ Hurry! Run! This isn’t fake! You need to hurry and get in here for your safety!” We ran and ran, we got to the door and basically dove in. We got put in the ROTC room and couldn’t see a thing. At this point we had no clue what was going on… all we knew was to sit down shut up and we would hear more when the time was right. Then I heard the voice of Mr. Jones come on the intercom, saying what was going on. The terror that I felt, when I heard the words “…someone in the school with a gun…..”, could not be told with words.

The only thing I could think of was that I need to tell my mom and dad that I love them. I texted my dad and told him what was going on and what I knew, and told him to call mom and tell her what had been going on. I ended my text with “I love you’s” and that was it. He sent me back a single text that said “ Ook Sam, I love you……see you soon.”

- Sammi

Hear Sammi read it: Sammi’s Story

I was just sitting down in the photography room before class when the announcement came on to go into lockdown. We moved over to the corner of the room and shut off all the lights. For the first 5-10 minutes we were pretty quiet but then there was nothing really going on so we started talking and moving around and then Mr. Jones came on the intercom saying that the teachers were going to receive an email in about 2 minutes. Our teacher never told us what the email said but he made us be quiet again and said that we needed to take this more seriously, that’s when I knew it wasn’t just a drill.

A little bit later Mr. Jones came back on the intercom and was telling us what was going on. About a minute after that is when everybody started getting text messages and phone calls from their parents and friends. At first we were trying to hide our phones but then after awhile we just didn’t care anymore, our teacher said we were going to tie up the phones lines with all the texting going on. I got a text message from my mom saying, “Hey I heard there are a bunch of cops at your school. Anything going on?” I told her that there was a guy that came into the school with a handgun and that the place was surrounded with cops. She wanted to make sure everyone was ok and to keep her informed. Then my dad called me and asked what was going on and if I was alright and to keep him updated. Then I started get text messages from friends from Douglas and Stevens and old friends that I don’t even talk to anymore asking what was going on.

Pretty soon, we started hearing a lot of rumors, like they found a gun on the 2^nd floor, Mr. Vernon got shot, and that there was a shot fired and Grandview Elementary. After sitting there for about an hour and a half we were starting to get bored so we laid down on the floor to get more comfortable and were listening to music and the news and watching movies on peoples iPods. Then at about a quarter to 11 Mr. Jones came back on the intercom and told us that the building was safe and we were going to start evacuating over to the civic center at 11 o’clock.

At 11:17 we heard the bell ring for 2^nd block to be over and about 10 minutes after that we saw the yearbook room light turn on. We were just sitting there watching the window waiting for them to come get us and all of a sudden you could see a guy pointing his gun in the room and shining his flashlight on everybody. That’s when I got scared and knew that it wasn’t just a joke. Then they walked and Mr. Murphy said “Its Mr. Murphy please let me in.” So we all started getting up and the guy in the S.W.A.T. uniform told us to stay there and he started talking about how we were going to line up single file with our hand on the shoulder of the person in front of us and we were going to walk out to the hallway and wait till we were all ready to head over to the civic center.

We had to make sure we were quiet in the halls and when we got outside everybody was loud talking about everything and looking at all the cop cars and seeing all the parents across the street. When we got into the civic center we went in sat in the stands and I kept getting calls from my parents and my sister and I was texting everyone but we didn’t get a lot of good service cause everyone was on their phones. At about 1:20 Mr. Jones came in and told us they found out it was fake. Everybody in the arena started yelling and getting mad but he said the good news was that we got to go home; everybody started cheering but then he said there was bad news: we might have to make up that day and that’s when everybody started getting mad again. He said they would be going back to unlock the school so students get their keys or whatever they needed. He finally let us out of there and our section was the first one out so we were out of there by 1:30.

- Stacy

I wasn’t here for the lockdown on Tuesday, but as soon as I heard about it, it was all I could thing about. I was so worried for the people in the school, I wanted to inform and talk to the people I knew, but at the same time I wanted to ensure their safety by not making their phone ring. Although I did feel worried, at the same time I felt like there wasn’t really a threat. I was told that it was a “shooting” as in someone had been shot or was in danger of being shot, instead of just a threat. Thoughts were racing through my mind like worries about not seeing someone close to me again. It was the first time in my life that I actually felt that there was danger present. Its hard for people who haven’t had something so dangerous happen in their life to comprehend what it feels like. All I can say is that its like a shot of adrenaline and a shot of thoughts through your mind. Its scary.

Though my feelings during the period of danger were intense, as soon as I found out it was a hoax, at about 2:30 my thoughts were even more intensified at the person who would make something like that up. I felt like an outcast not being there for my peers and family, but it still effects you deeply. If it had been more than it really was, I would have been thankful that I wasn’t there, but still mad that I couldn’t be there to try to make things better for classmates or family.

- Andy

I thought that the lockdown was a drill at first. But then when Mr. Jones came on and told us that it was not a drill I got a little worried. Then after about a half an hour I just got really bored. I was really glad that Mr. Sheehy let us text and call our parents. I also thought that he handled the situation really well. If I were to ever get stuck in a lockdown again I would want to be in his room. I just felt really safe with him.

Then when we turned on the T.V. and saw all of the police I was kind of worried. I didn’t think it was a big deal until then. I also liked how fast the police got there. I heard that they were there in at least two minutes. Later that day I started to think about what could have happened. I also got a new perspective of things. I had so many things that were going trough my mind. I thought about my sister at South, because at the time I only knew that the guy had left after he got spotted, so I thought that he might go over there since the shooter knew that Central was locked down. I kept getting these text messages from this girl in Stevens asking if I was alright and I would say yes. She was really worried about me.

- Zach

While I was just getting into my classroom for 2nd block the announcement came for us to get into lockdown, and at first it didn’t scare me at much because I thought it was just a drill. But after a couple hours, Mr. Jones sent out an email saying that this is real then I started to get a little scared. So we just all sat there in the dark, our teacher let us use our phones to call our parents to let them know that we were ok, he didn’t care if we texted our friends or family members because that makes less noise then talking on the phone – all it makes is clicking. My sister texted me and asked if she could call me to talk to me so I called her after she sent that text message and she was crying, asking me what was going on, she was more scared then I was.

When I was siting there I kept on getting text messages from my friends and family asking what was going on, and if I was ok. The part that scared me the most and when it hit me that this was real was when we were getting evacuated. When the SWAT team guy and a principal came in they just walked in and told us to get in a single file line and hold onto the person ahead of you. So as we were walking out that was the scariest part cuz there was a guy with a gun standing right there, doing the best he can to protect all of us. I belive that the Rapid City police department did a very good job of protecting us. I hope that the kid that did this learned that making prank calls like he did is very serious and not to do it again. Well thank god that we have been practicing the lock downs and stuff or we would have been so out of control, most of the people wouldn’t know what to do.

~Randi~

April 17, 2007 I went to school feeling not good and that something bad was going to happed. During 2ed block, my English class, Mr. Jones told us that it was a lockdown because someone had seen a man with a handgun in the school. How I felt about the lockdown was scared for my life and I was mad at the end. I thought that we were all going to die. I never thought that something like this can happen to my school in a small town. I was scared that the gun man would come throw the door and shoot all of us and we would be all killed.

During the lockdown it was a mess; I got really mad at some people that I didn’t like but I had to hold back. I was trying to make myself think about everyone that I loved in my life, even my boyfriend, and I thought of a happy place. I was texting my mom telling her what had happed and that I was ok, I was also texting my brother Anthony that is in 12^th grade where we would be meeting after if we were going to get out of here. I really felt like we were going to be getting shot after we leave the room but then again I thought that it might be all a joke on the school – I was not sure though.

An hour has passed and I was getting really scared for every one around me but at the same time I was not scared – I was half and half. I was really getting mad at one of the girls in my English class that was saying things that were not right and not true. I really wanted to slap her but I thought if I did that then I would be into trouble. I started talking to a guy in my class. We just sat and talked through the whole time pretty much. I was getting really hungry so I went through my purse and found some candy and started eating it.

After another hour had passed I had to go to the bathroom so I had to wait until we get out of there. I wanted to get out of that room so I can see my friends and my love ones. So after sitting in there for 3 hours it was getting boring. We heard sounds coming from the outside of the room and the first thought that went throw my mind was “can that be the gun man?” but it was a cop telling us that they are there way to get us out. Another hour had passed and it was really boring in there so I started texting my boyfriend to see if he was ok and all right because I heard that all the schools are in a lockdown right after us. Before I knew it some person was telling us to open the door for the cops so we did and they told us that we had to put our hands on the person’s shoulders in front of us.

When they were getting the other kids out of their rooms we had to stand there with our hands still on the person’s shoulders in front of us. So when they got the other rooms, we left to go down stairs and go outside and cross the street to the civic center. So we all went in there and sat there for a few minutes before Mr. Jones got on the microphone and told us what had happed and he also told us that it was all a hoax. I thought right then and there that this guy is going to be getting into a lot of trouble with the cops and the school; also I thought that it was stupid for him telling them that some one was here with a handgun and started crying. I hope that kid gets into a lot of trouble for putting our lives in danger. I am glad that it was not real because then someone would have been shot and killed. I am happy that we got out safe and that we were never in real harm. But some day it will happed to a school in Rapid like it did at Virginia Tech but I hope not though. I was really ticked off after what had just happed but then again I was glad that it was fake and not real.

- Tonia

It seemed more like a dream more then any thing and I though that I would just wake up and it would all be back to the way things always are. As me and my friend were sitting there in the dark texting our friends and family it finally hit me that it was really happening that some thing was not right. I remember having one of my best friends text me asking me, “are you ok and r u hurt.” That right there really made things seem more real.

The only thing we could do really was sit there and listen to music or text on our phones. Hearing how scared every one was by the text. There was one I got from my boyfriend telling me that he was so scared that he left his class down in his town and came up to Rapid City. That made me want to cry because, I knew this was bigger than what I could have ever dreamed it would have been. Getting texted from my boyfriend telling me what was going on outside and all the cops that were there, it’s something that you just can’t forget. There is nothing that you can comepare it to.

When the cop finally came to our room and it was is time to go was kind of scary but then you new that you would be ok. Seeing the guns and all the guys and how we couldn’t walk on the one side of the hall. It really is some thing you don’t want you have to see. I know that its some thing I will always remember. There is nothing like it. Knowing that some thing is not right and you don’t know what it is and you just have to sit there and try not to think about it. That long wait seemed like it went on forever, sitting there thinking about your family and the shooting the day before. You just have to real keep calm and think of the good and are happy that nothing did happen.

- Bailey

I was walking down the hall, next thing I know people are yelling to get in a class room immediately, lucky for me I was already by my class so I got in there right away. When I got in there no one really knew what was going on so we just assumed it was a drill.

Mr. Murphy I think was the one who came on the speakers, he had a panicked tone in his voice, and I started to worry about what was going on since he’s telling us we are having a lock down due to a kid in our school with a hand gun. After that I wasn’t really all that worried, I felt safe in the room I was in, but I was frustrated with my teacher. I didn’t have a phone, I couldn’t call anyone, I couldn’t text anyone, no one was supposed to be using their phones but everyone was. They were all getting texts about all kinds of different rumors, I don’t really know what all of them were but I know there were many. So as I’m sitting in that room for many hours doing absolutely nothing everyone started to get cranky, especially our teacher, but I was just laying on the floor sleeping while all this was going on. I would wake up whenever Mr. Jones came on the speaker, and he did a very good job with keeping us calm.

At this point we have been sitting there in that room for over 3 and a half hours, and my department was one of the last rooms to be evacuated. But when they finally arrived, a cop, a principal, and a SWAT team member came into our room. The SWAT man had a huge gun, which is what really made me believe this was real, but for some reason I was still not scared at all, I guess part of the reason is because I feel very safe here. We were told to put our hands on the person in front of us to create a chain, we were not to break the chain, and we had to move fast so this was a difficult thing to do believe it or not, especially as we walked down the stairs.

Right when I got out side, the first thing I see is cops and SWAT everywhere, police cars all around the area; I look to my left and I see SWAT on the Howard Johnson hotel. We get to the Civic Center, with people everywhere inside, everyone seemed pretty calm except for a few. Then as we are all seated Pat Jones gets on a microphone and starts talking to us, telling us how well we all handled it, then he tells us, THIS WAS A FALSE REPORT! Everyone started to get angry, he wouldn’t tell us who did it but everyone already knew who did it. Then he told us we will be out of school for the rest of the day, we all cheered, but still had anger over the false report.

This was a good experience for all of us, none of us will ever forget this most likely, we all thought it was real and we were all scared in some sort of way, but that just makes it more memorable. Now we all know this can happen to anyone of us, any time. But I know I will not forget it ever. We will all be ready for an event like this, if it ever happens again. We are all hoping it will not happen again but can at any moment. But I know we are all angry about it being false, but we are all blessed to be alive, and still all together.

- Marcus