A celebration of the Halloween season, cars covered in cobwebs and adorned with purple lights welcomed costume-clad students excited for their promised sugar high turned terrified screams and stampeeds of children running for their lives. A shooting occurred in the parking lot of NKMS during Tillman’s Trunk-or-Treat, on Oct. 15, 2023. “There was conflict, and he ended up pulling out a weapon and firing it into the air, causing a mass amount of panic and concern,” Steph Deidrick, KSD’s chief communications officer, said.
The man who fired the shots into the air, ex-police officer Matthew McCulloch, went on trial for his actions at the Trunk-or-Treat. According to a KSDK article, he pleaded guilty to six counts of endangering the welfare of a child, one count of making a terroristic threat and one count of unlawful use of a weapon. As his sentence, McCulloch must serve five years of probation.
McCulloch’s verdict wasn’t the only repercussion of the shooting. According to Deidrick, Tillman provided mental health resources to any parents or students that had ongoing fears from the shooting.
“The team at Tillman has worked with families to try and support them in the aftermath of the event,” Deidrick said. “They utilized mental health resources from around the region. It’s a positive thing that no one was physically injured at the Tillman Trunk-or-Treat. But that doesn’t mean that there weren’t ongoing mental injuries to folks [who had] that experience.”
The Tillman administration sent out a survey to families, which asked, “If Tillman were to host a Trunk-or-Treat event this October, how likely is it that your family would attend?” Of those who answered the survey 59% answered, “they would very likely or probably attend,” but more than 40% answered, “they either would not, probably wouldn’t or weren’t sure how they felt about it yet.”
This created the opportunity for Tillman to host a new fall activity for families. This was after Principal Dr. Bryan Painter, Tillman Principal, and the PTO decided that the school wasn’t ready for another Trunk-or-Treat.
“That was a large enough percentage of our family for school and PTO leadership to determine that an on-campus Trunk-or-Treat would not be as inclusive [to those still traumatized from the shooting] as we’d like it to be—at least for this year,” Painter said. “While final plans have not yet been announced, we will likely have a family day at Grant’s Farm this year, after having a family day at Brookdale Farms last fall.”
After the shooting occurred, Deidrick said KSD is prioritizing improving safety at after-hours school events. She also said that families are interested in increasing the number of Student Resource Officers (SROs) at big events.
“When [KSD] talks about safety and security, we’re looking at what are our processes and our procedures for keeping everybody safe and responding in a safe way if there is an emergency,” Deidrick said. “We’ve had several families and groups express an interest in making sure that there are SROs present or other police officers present at large events. It’s not required, but it’s something that a lot of volunteer groups have opted to do. There is a cost, but they felt that it’s warranted.”
Deb Lavender, a former Missouri State Representative, served Missouri for eight years. During her time in the House of Representatives, Lavender fought for more gun control in Missouri. From the knowledge she gained when advocating for gun control Lavender found that more SROs in schools isn’t always the answer to keeping students safe.
“I believe the more SROs we have, the more people of color are detained, punished [and] arrested,” Lavender said. “I know historically, SRO officers in schools [arrested] our students of color, and that there is totally a different standard to that. I’m sad that instead of putting in common sense measures, we’re fortifying our schools.”
Though these situations are scary and hard to talk about, they are becoming more and more frequent. Here are some ways to prepare for and survive shootings. Before going to a public or crowded place attendees can plan ways to evacuate if an emergency occurs. St. Mary’s College of Maryland’s Office of public safety says, “Plan ahead: Visualize possible escape routes, including physically accessible routes for students and staff with disabilities and others with limited mobility.” Another way to prepare is to take a two-hour FBI civilian course called ASAPP (Active Shooter Attack Prevention and Preparedness) that focuses on training regular people, “to better prevent, prepare for, and respond to active shooter incidents in the United States and abroad.” Save The Children, an organization that aims to end child suffering, says it’s important for parents to talk to their children about what to do if a shooting occurs. Parents should then tell their children to look for leaders, emphasize safety and to tell them it’s normal to be scared. Finally if you ever find yourself in a shooting many resources including the FBI say the best thing to do is to remember, “Run, hide, Fight.”
