On Oct. 25 there was an active shooter at the Boise Towne Square Mall, leaving two dead and four injured. They were able to shoot and catch the perpetrator, Jacob Bergquist, who later died from his injuries. On Oct. 28, Idaho News 6 posted an article reporting that there have been five shootings across the Treasure Valley in the past twelve days. In late September, reports of a second gun-related incident in 2021 at Rigby Middle School made headlines. With these various events happening, many students and school staff are left wondering, “Am I safe while at school?”  

After these events occurred, The Rocky Roar Newspaper administered a survey to students at Rocky Mountain High School. The survey results were as follows: 21 out of 86 respondents (24%) feel “very safe” while at school, and 60 out of the 84 (69%) feel “mostly safe” while at school, and the remaining 6 (7%) feel “not very safe” to “not safe at all” while at school.  

“It was a terrible event and I feel sorry for the families and affected members of our community,” said Jack Spear, a sophomore here at Rocky Mountain. “I feel safe in the school and just hope this doesn’t happen again.” 

When asked how the recent shooting at the Boise Town Square Mall has affected his outlook on school safety, Pierce Richardson, a sophomore, said: “It concerns me from a student’s perspective because I feel that there are a lot of times and situations where students and staff are very vulnerable to the acts of an attacker or active shooter situation.” In many cases, this can be true in school environments where staff members can’t always know when, if, or where there may be a threat at school.  

“I feel like having your ID card to get into the school keeps me safe,” Spear said. Many students have and will agree that since Rocky Mountain has started using ID cards to get inside the building, many students have felt safer at school, or more secure while here inside the building.   

If there is a lockdown at Rocky, our school procedure is as follows:

• Site Administrator or other staff member who identifies the threat signals that the school is in lockdown
• Staff calls 911
• Lock classroom doors (classroom staff quickly scan hallway and pull students into the classroom)
• Turn off classroom lights
• Lower blinds
• Barricade door (as high as the door and 10 feet deep)
• Students and staff move away from windows and out of sight
• Weapon in hand
• Staff and students remain down, quiet and out of sight until a member of law enforcement or school administration unlocks the door 

Rocky Mountain High School also follows the “Run, Hide, Fight” protocol, endorsed by the FBI and Department of Homeland Security. Watch a video on this procedure here. 

To sum everything up, with this recent shooting happening in the very community Rocky Mountain students are in, we were blessed that it did not directly affect the lives of our students, and staff. Once this has happened, we thought more about the security and protective measures we have set up here at Rocky Mountain and appreciate those who help protect us at school.