
Schools have been engaging in active shooter drills for years, though depending on the district, there might be another word for them. Still, year after year, all grade levels do what they have to in order to prepare for the worst: in case an intruder or a student commits a violent act on those at the school. A user on TikTok pointed out in a video that so much time has passed that potential school shooters are the same people who grew up performing these drills alongside other students.
Let that sink in. This means possible school shooters, or those who pose a threat to students and faculty, might know the ins and outs of how rooms are barricaded, where people might hide, and how to get around anything. In her TikTok, the creator wrote on the screen that shooters know where to shoot because “they know where to hide.”
@yourfavcubanmami #makethisvideogoviral #blowthisupformepleasetiktok #blowthisupforme #govirallllll #goviralplease ♬ original sound – .s0ng_oftheday
School shooters might already know the drills that keep students and faculty safe.
Schools across the United States have fire drills, tornado drills, and active shooter lockdown drills that are practiced throughout each school year. Some schools might have other special protocols that some don’t, but if a school shooter is a former student or staff member, they might already know how to get around whatever system is in place. It’s a scary thought.
Someone commented under the video, “Maybe I’m different, but I thought this way for years. When I was still in school, I had my own plan of what to do if a shooter ever came, ’cause listening to the school’s plan could’ve gotten me killed.”
Another TikToker pointed out, “Like you think someone won’t know the class schedules, procedures, and hiding places in THEIR OWN school???”
Some lockdown drills in schools entail teaching kids how to hide or where to go in a classroom in the event of an actual active shooter. Others have instructions about barricading classrooms as much as possible. But all of that is for nothing, according to some, if a shooter already knows what to do and what not to do to cause the most damage.
A teacher added a comment to bring a new perspective to the idea of active shooter drills. “As a teacher during the drills I have my students do the drill as normal,” the person wrote. “However, if in the event of a real shooting, I have both an exit and hiding strategy planned for my students.”
Some school drills have changed over the years.
This is an active shooter "practice drill" in a middle school in the United States of America in case the teacher dies.
— Don Winslow (@donwinslow) September 6, 2025
This is America in 2025.
This does not have to be America in 2025.pic.twitter.com/4GeJ5hhcxC
It’s possible a school might change its tactics over the years to prevent this very thing. Some schools now use what’s called the ALICE drill. According to the ALICE training website, it offers a way to train anyone, from young children to older adults, how to survive and to remain safe in a dangerous situation.
ALICE drills offer options based on specific needs of those who need to be trained to use the protocol in serious situations. It isn’t as simple as just getting under a desk and putting your head between your legs.
Because more schools are using ALICE now than before, it may be one way they are trying to keep kids, staff, and faculty safe.