NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — It's been two weeks since a student opened fire inside Antioch High School, killing 16-year-old Dayana Escalante.
Now, for the first time, we are hearing from three of the teachers inside the school that day.
We aren't using their names or showing their faces. They are longtime teachers. They are worried about losing their jobs if they speak out - but they say this is too important to stay silent.
"Were you surprised there was a shooting at Antioch High School campus?" I asked.
"No, not really," the teacher replied.
Combined, they've spent more than three decades in the classroom.
“Be constructive with your anger because we’re angry,” said one teacher.
They all agree the shooting was terrifying but said the school's response is what really scared them.
“I want there to be accountability,” said one teacher.
“I want a plan. I want every school to have a plan. I would love to say I don’t want any more children to die, and I do mean that but we need plans in every school across the nation," said another teacher.
The day of the shooting all three teachers were in different parts of the building when the 17-year-old shooter pulled a gun out of his backpack. He shot and killed Dayana Escalante, 16, in the cafeteria before shooting and killing himself. None of these teachers were in the cafeteria at the time but they saw the fear and fleeing first-hand.
“They’re running and just screaming, and I’m waiting by my door. ‘Are you sure?’ and the kids are like, ‘Yes’. ‘Well they’ve not made any announcements,’” said one teacher. “We waited and waited. I don’t know how long, but it was a good long time.”
The teachers said what should have happened next did not.
School administrators should have made an announcement to let teachers know there was an active shooter and they needed to lock down. That's how they planned and practiced it, but they said it didn't happen.
"How soon should a lockdown be called after something like that?" I asked.
"Immediately. Immediately. Yeah, I would say within the first two minutes. How long does it take to get to a phone? They all have walkie-talkies on them, and they can do an intercom from their phone. They use their phones to make announcements," the teachers said.
Police said the shooter opened fire in the cafeteria at 11:09 a.m.
“I called my principal at 11:14. I said, ‘Students are running outside. Are we on a lockdown? Something's not ok,’” said one teacher. “She said, ‘No we’re not on a lockdown. I’m in the auditorium, and you can wait to see if they make an announcement, but we’re not on a lockdown.’”
Six minutes went by before a lockdown was called. Many already started lockdown procedures on their own trying to protect the kids in their classrooms and those running from the cafeteria.
"I started barricading the door. The students — I’m so proud of them. They’re so brave. They started piling up desks and chairs, and they were quiet. They were doing it all. I have so much respect for the way they handled themselves during that."
“Kids were showing (us) videos of what was taking place in the cafeteria way before we even got the (lockdown) announcement,” said another teacher.
“I texted my dad, and I said ‘It’s real. I love you. I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I’ll let you know.’”
At this point, they still had no idea what was going on outside their locked classroom doors.
“There’s no communication. There is no text messages. No emails from admin. Nothing. We had no clue what was happening.”
Outside the school, we knew the shooter was no longer a threat. But the teachers and students inside did not. They were still huddled in their classroom with the lights out, and the doors and windows still barricaded.
They also kept hearing what sounded like gunshots outside their doors. This went on for more than an hour.
“I stood in front of my students. I said, ‘I don’t know what’s going on. We just have to stay quiet,’ and so we did and finally the bang stopped.”
“They knocked down the barricade and said, ‘Put your hands up. Is anyone injured in here?’ I said, ‘No’. They said, ‘Re-barricade the door and lock the door’.”
The bangs they heard outside were SWAT team officers clearing each classroom.
“That traumatized the kids. They were shooting locks off doors and yelling and screaming. So you have no idea. We at one point thought if there was another gunman because we heard bang, bang, bang. I thought there was another gunman. There was no communication. No texting. No emails. No nothing. None.”
The teachers said the first communication they got from the school during the lockdown was a single, three-sentence email an hour after the shooting that said:
"Antioch family, I hope this email finds you well. Please ensure you have a roster and the number of scholars who are in your class. I appreciate all of you."
It didn't say what had happened, whether anyone was hurt, or what the teachers were supposed to do.
These teachers aren't just frustrated with how things were handled right after the shooting. They are also concerned about what happened afterward.
They said the reunification process was much harder for students and their families than it should have been.
The teachers say they are speaking out so the district will be better prepared if something like this happens again.
We reached out to MNPS and ask whether Antioch High School principal Nekesha Burnette and/or Dr. Adrienne Battle could sit down for an interview.
They declined but provided the following statement from Dr. Adrienne Battle:
"I am proud of how Dr. Burnette and the team at Antioch High quickly responded to an unprecedented and tragic situation. Our district and school leaders worked closely with law enforcement and emergency management officials in a collaborative effort to secure the building and reunite students with their families. My leadership team and I have been deeply committed and involved in planning and preparing for a thoughtful return of students and staff, with a focus on counseling, grief therapy, and intentional measures to enhance safety, security, and social-emotional well-being at the school. I appreciate the vast majority of teachers and staff at Antioch High who have been willing to work with their school and district leadership team to support students and prepare for the return to school."
MNPS district spokesperson Sean Braisted provided the following response:
Understanding that this was a difficult time for everyone involved, the district provided small group counseling and debriefing sessions on Friday, Jan. 24 to staff at Antioch High School and provided planning time on Monday the 27th.
We worked to install additional safety features at the school with the Evolv concealed weapons detection systems and provided training on Friday and Monday. The MNPD also announced the placement of a third School Resource Officer to provide additional safety and support for the school.
Dr. Battle and district leadership were at the school throughout the day and night and through the weekend working with school leadership teams on plans to prepare for the return of students.
Knowing that some students would not be able to adequately process the events, our district counseling and support teams were deployed to help design, prepare, and implement social-emotional learning-focused lessons that were meant to give students a chance to grieve as a group.
We have also provided home visits by counselors and social workers to students who needed it, along with additional counseling and therapy opportunities for staff.
The response to a school shooting involves the school staff, district staff, police and emergency responders from across the city of Nashville. While there are lessons to be learned in the aftermath of any tragedy such as this, the coordinated response provided safety and security at the building until it could be cleared, and the process of reunification was able to take place.
Lockdown procedures and drills are meant to ensure staff and students remain safe in their classrooms, regardless of the specifics of the situation, until further information and direction can be provided. The school initiated a lockdown as soon as it was called for by the staff closest to the incident, and information was provided as soon as possible given that it was an active response involving multiple departmental jurisdictions.
We remain committed to supporting Antioch High’s students and staff as we return to a new normalcy and ensure that our students can maintain their academic progress in order to be on track for college, career, and their future success.
