Watertown Schools Take on New Tactics for a School Intruder

School shootings and other such incidents seem to happen on a weekly basis somewhere in American and Watertown has put in new plans in case such an incident occurs in one of its schools.

Watertown Police Sgt. George Demos has worked with Watertown Middle School Assistant Principal Jason DelPotro and others in the district to come up with a new strategy.

“We must be more prepared for a variety of crises,” Del Porto said. “It’s a sad statement about society, but like curriculum and teacher we have to adjust to the times.”

Demos told the School Committee that the lockdown where students and teachers hide in their rooms is not the best method, and they now have a more active strategy.

“If we have a guy with a knife in the west wing, and you are in the east wing, why not leave the school building?” Demos said.

Sitting and waiting may not be enough time, he said. Even in a small town like Watertown, Demos said, it takes an average of 2.5 minutes for police to arrive, and then they have to go into the building and find the intruder.

During the Virginia Tech shootings, Demos said, the rooms where people barricaded the door and jumped out the window, many more people survived the shooting.

Even fighting back is a move that may have to be undertaken, Demos said.

“Do whatever you can to defend yourself,” Demos said. “If you have a heavy object, throw it at them. If you are physically able to take him down, do so. Do what ever you can to get out of Dodge.”

Several school administrators have trained in the new strategies, which have been adopted in other towns. They will then teach the teachers who will pass it on to their students, DelPotro said.