Mom Practices Active Shooter Drills with Kindergartner in Now Viral Video

Bulletproof backpacks and shooter drills are a part of some parents back-to-school routines

As kids head back to school, there are certain items like notebooks, folders, and pencils every parent must buy. But for many Americans, given the frequency of school shootings, bulletproof backpacks are also on the list.

Mom Cassie Walton did just that for her son Weston, five, who is about to start kindergarten. She also went one step further, posting a video to TikTok where she taught Weston how to survive an active shooter situation. “It makes me feel very sad that we have come to this as a country and I wish I could be different,” Walton told TODAY Parents, saying her biggest fear is “something will happen to him in a place where he is supposed to be the most safe.”

https://www.tiktok.com/@thewaltonfamily1/video/7129880974006996270

In the video, Walton asks her son to show her what he would do if someone said over the loudspeaker: “This is not a drill.” Weston shows his mom, grabbing his Spiderman bulletproof backpack, saying, “Get in the corner and be really quiet and still.”

Walton then asked her son, “Show me how you use your bulletproof backpack” and he hides his head behind it. Weston then asks him what he would say if a teacher said,’Weston you don’t need your backpack let’s get in the corner.'” His reply: “No I need it, it’s bulletproof.”

Weston told TODAY that she went through this drill with her son because she “wanted him to be prepared and have somewhat of an idea of what to do if the situation should ever arise.” she said. While it’s horrifying that this is something parents actually have to teach their kids, she said it was because of the shooting in Uvalde in May and his questions afterwards that she felt it necessary.

“He could see what was going on in Texas and, as kids do, he had questions, so I answered his questions (as best as) I could and then told him about my school experience,” Walton said.

Towards the end of the video, Walton asks her son what he would do if the police were outside the classroom door, but the shooter was still inside. “I say, ‘I’m here’,” Weston says, smiling. Walton replies quickly, “Absolutely not, you don’t say a word. If the shooter is in there, you don’t say a word, you stay absolutely silent.”

For anyone thinking Walton is overreacting, the statistics are sobering. A new report from the Education Department showed 93 school shootings during this past school year. There were 11 just a decade ago. These drills, while unfathomable, are necessary to help keep our kids safe.

Walton finished her drill by telling her son that when he is able to get out of his classroom, to start running. “You run as far away from the school as you can go,” Walton said. “Mom will find you.”