Fury as kids at Vermont school are left terrified after cops stage ‘mock shooting’ drill with masked gunman

Parents were outraged that their children attended a high school in Burlington Vermont were part of a ‘mock shooting exercise’ this week with a masked gunman.

The surprise demonstration took place Wednesday as part of a year-end forensic investigation between Burlington High School and Burlington police involving a group of about 20 students.

Three officers were involved in the role-play scenario simulating a robbery, with one of the officers dressed as a masked gunman pretending to open fire, causing panic among many students. run for cover and fear for their lives.

The simulated exercise was intended to be a useful exercise, but the lack of warning and surprise ambush frightened students and caused outrage among parents and the community.

Outraged parents and students told the story Seven days that the mock drill played on the fears of students who grew up amid a nationwide increase in school violence.

A photo of the Burlington Police Department administrative building

The students in attendance said they were initially told they would watch a presentation on how detectives solve crimes and be given a tour of the police station.

One of the students told the publication how scared she was, explaining how when she took cover, she scraped her knee while trying to find her phone to call her mother.

Recalling her trauma, the student said she was “shaking and crying,” and recalled thinking, “Oh my God. I’m going to get shot.’

She added, “It felt so real.”

It was only when the students saw that the officers did nothing to stop the shooter that they realized it was “not real.”

One parent said she was ‘stunned’ by the incident. “It is a very real threat to children today when there is a shooting at school. It’s something they’re concerned about.”

On Thursday, both the Burlington School District and the Burlington Police Department apologized to parents and students.

In the statements, the school offered counseling services, and police apologized to those students “upset by the specific scenario and crime scene portion of the presentation.”

They further stated that “the role-play scenario only involved three department personnel simulating a robbery scenario and was not directed at students or faculty.”

In the letter, the BPD stated that on April 29, Burlington School District staff associated with the YES program contacted the BPD about conducting another presentation following a previous successful presentation between the Police Department and BHS Science in Society in the fall of 2023.

On May 23, police and YES program officials communicated about the details of the scenario, including “the use of fake firearms in a mock shooting.”

BPD asked: ‘Do you think such an incident would be good for your group of students?

They also stated that “it’s about as real life as it gets, and it’s certainly exactly the kind of thing we deal with most often.”

According to the letter, YES program staff responded that “these students will be fine with the simulation” and said they will “notify parents and students.”

But according to Seven Days, the presentation that was previously done and was successful was used for college students, not adults, and not for high school students, which was sent in an email to parents on Wednesday.

The teachers wrote that “the detectives apologized after realizing that the reenactment did not go over well to middle school students.”

A district spokesperson would not reveal whether the school district notified parents in advance of the simulation, but some students and parents who spoke to the news outlet said it did not.

DailyMail.com reached out to the school district for clarification, but they were unavailable for comment.

On May 23, police and YES program officials communicated about the details of the scenario, including “the use of fake firearms in a mock shooting.”

A street view of Burlington High School

The BPD supervisor was not identified by name, but in the press release issued, the supervisor involved contacted program officials to discuss the matter further.

On Friday, police department personnel planned to meet with students and staff to discuss the incident and conduct a mock drill. They concluded the letter by saying: ‘we hope this will be reflective growth and opportunity for all parties.’

Burlington Police Chief Jon Murad was away at a conference and unavailable for an interview, the news source said.

DailyMail.com contacted Burlington police for further comment, but they were unavailable at time of publication.

The nonprofit Dad Guild posted news of the incident to their more than one million followers, telling them how “deeply disturbed” they were, and sharing data about the epidemic our country is facing with mass shootings in our schools.

“More than half of high school students fear school shootings, with 1 in 4 “very concerned,” they wrote in part.

‘The psychological impact of the crisis exercises on schools themselves is great, with many students traumatized by these exercises.’

“This reality underlines the urgent need to reform these exercises less, not more – and the same goes for demonstrations like yesterday’s.

“We have a unique obligation to approach such exercises with greater sensitivity and foresight,” the organization said in part

They also asked about “what accountability might look like for the Burlington Police Department.”

“This situation, caused by poor judgment before a planned demonstration, raises thoughts about how BPD may be using poor judgment in actual crisis situations. We hope for a careful response and action steps to limit the damage caused.

“We believe and hope that the Burlington community can work to create a safer and more supportive environment for its students, and ensure that educational experiences are both informative and compassionate,” they said.

The second page of the BPD statement

One person commented on the Papa Guild mention post.

“I 100% agree that BPD needs to investigate their practices, but we must also be aware that Burlington School officials were aware that an extremely real-life weapons scenario would be demonstrated during this presentation,” they said .

“It appears that the adults at both the school and BPD have failed their children. As a teacher you don’t show a video without watching it in its entirety, and that should have been looked at much more carefully.’

Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak’s office was notified and she “expressed her disappointment,” the news station said.

She expressed concerns about why police would carry out a mock shooting in front of high school students in the first place, and without prior warning, and asked police to “think about why [the demonstration] was problematic.’