Safety drill at Hardin County High School on Aug. 17 to include mock armed intruder

Parents need not be alarmed to see a large presence of local law enforcement and emergency vehicles at Hardin County High School on Thursday morning.

The high school will be participating in a drill involving a mock armed intruder in preparation for just such a situation.

“We will then evaluate the drill’s outcome to determine how things went for law enforcement and how the school’s staff and students did during the mock drill, to see if there are any issues that may need to be addressed,” said Hardin County Director of Schools Michael Davis.

A mock armed intruder drill is required for all public and private schools in Tennessee as a result of school safety laws that were passed shortly after the mass shooting that occurred at The Covenant School in Nashville on March 27. Three students and three adults were killed.

Davis said principals of each public school in Hardin County will coordinate individual drills to be scheduled with the Sheriff’s Department and Savannah Police Department.

“For myself and the Hardin County school board, safety continues to be a top priority for our school system. We will continue to discuss and implement new safety measures that will help keep our students and teachers as safe as possible,” Davis said.