Except for the tragic loss of a boy on the cusp of 14 who eluded those who wished to help him, law enforcement, Dowagiac Union Schools and city officials demonstrated their readiness in real time Monday to turn a 2,300-student school district on a dime.
Thanks to an observant custodian and a quick staff response, a lockdown was imposed even before school started.
Parents received alerts from Supt. Dr. Mark Daniel about an emergency which necessitated turning buses around and diverting walking students.
Riverside Drive to Dowagiac Middle School was sealed off.
While students returned home or, in the case of elementary pupils, stayed home, officials twice briefed the media at Front Street Crossing.
DMS is where four commandoes swept through the cafeteria April 30 to demonstrate for the countywide Intergovernmental Forum the practiced response to an active shooter.
That controversial program followed discussion by the Cass County Board of Commissioners on the usefulness of “conjecture,” since school shootings might never occur here.
June 3 didn’t quite fit the scenario we have come to expect when a gun is brought to a school.
He wasn’t armed to the teeth, making the sad conclusion all the more perplexing.
This editorial represents the views of the editorial board.