An Alabama middle school is asking students to bring in canned goods.
While this might seem like a fairly standard school activity, this is not for a food drive for the less fortunate. It’s so the school can have a stockpile of cans to throw at dangerous intruders.
According to The Spectrum, W.F. Burns Middle School Principal Priscella Holley in Valley, Ala. senat a letter home, asking parents to to have each student bring in an 8-ounce canned item.
“We realize at first this may seem odd; however, it is a practice that would catch an intruder off guard,” she wrote in the letter.
“The canned food item could stun the intruder or even knock him out until the police arrive. The canned food item will give the students a sense of empowerment to protect themselves and will make them feel secure in case an intruder enters their classroom.”
Chambers County Schools Superintendent Kelli Hodge told The Associated Press on that this was a part of active shooter training.
The cans would be a last resort for students unable to evacuate, she said.
Teachers are taught to barricade classroom doors if an intruder is in the school, but if that fails, the cans and items such as textbooks could be used to fend off the attacker, she told the news outlet.
“If somebody is going to force their way through, then as the last resort you would start throwing any objects you could get your hands on,” Hodge said.
If the cans are not used to fend off active shooters, they will be donated to a local food pantry at the end of the year.
