The Future of School Security? One School Already Has Armed Guards, Armed Teachers, and Trained Kids

New Life Baptist Academy out in Albuquerque, New Mexico, may have been looked at as a private school filled with crazy people a decade ago, but with another school shooting having taken the lives of innocent kids, it may be the basis by which schools mimic their security on in the future.

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At New Life, there are armed guards patrolling the hallways, ensuring that any threat to the children will be met with armed force. However, should a shooter somehow get passed the guards, he then has to deal with some of the armed teachers.

But armed guards and teachers won’t be the only shooter’s threat. He may also have to deal with the students who are trained on how to duck, cover, hide, and fight back if need be.

Superintendent of the school Pastor Larry Allen is a former police officer who found God and became a pastor after the death of his daughter. He then went on to found New Life Baptist, which he runs alongside his wife the Principle, Lillie Allen. Together, they run a school that teaches kids reading, writing, and arithmetic, as well as how to disarm and disable a shooter should they threaten their lives.

In a report by Vice News, Thomas Morton watches and even participates in some of the training the students undergo when it comes to active shooter drills, which Pastor Allen says should be about as common as fire drills. Allen acknowledges that eleven years ago, everyone thought he was nuts and are now looking at him like some kind of visionary.

“No,” Allen corrects them,”you can see evil coming.”

“I’m not carrying guns, doing security, and all just to be a tough guy,” Allen added. “The reason why we’re armed is you see what’s happening out there.”

“I’m not paranoid, I’m ready,” said Allen.

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As far as the student’s training goes, every one of them, from the youngest elementary aged child to the eldest high school teen, undergoes active shooter drills to know what to do in case one decides to attempt to shoot up the school. However, a few select upperclassmen are chosen by Allen to be the “Pastor’s Warriors” who’s job it is to know how to fight back with tactics. These students undergo a police style training class once a week.

One student said that she was nervous when the training started, but noted that she felt safer in the knowledge of knowing what to do in the event of a shooter.

Teachers that carry don’t just get to because they can legally conceal carry. Allen requires that any teacher willing to be a carrier can, however they must first undergo six months of training before they can do that, which as Morton notes is well past the required 18 hours to attain your CCL.

The future of school security is likely about to go into overdrive within the next few weeks. New Life Baptist Academy may be a school that many point to as containing perfect examples of how schools should handle the idea of an active shooter, and making them hard targets.

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