Chardon Shootings: 'Could Happen Anywhere' Says Jones, District has Crisis Plan

There's a crisis plan in place if the same thing were to happen at any of the schools in the , but Superintendent Russ Jones said the shootings at Chardon High School Feb. 27 could happen anywhere — not just at a school. 

"It's a sobering reminder that this can happen anywhere ... to me, this is not a school issue, it's a societal issue," said Jones. "It's unfortunately what we live with today. My heart ... and I know all of our hearts ... go out to the community in Chardon." 

Jones then asked everyone at the to take a moment of silence for the students injured and two who died because of gunshot wounds by a student at Chardon High School Feb. 27. 

When the superintendent learned of the incident, he said he immediately corresponded with all of the principals in every school building in the district to go over and refresh the crisis plan the district has in place. 

"We have a crisis plan that not only deals with intruders, but tornadoes, fire drills, evacuation plans," said Jones. "We also have 'flip charts' in every classroom for a teacher to reference in crisis situations."

Jones said teachers and key administrators are trained to keep students calm and safe in the event of a crisis. 

Transportation Supervisor "John Daymon said he could have 12 buses ready to go within 10 minutes to move our children wherever they need to go" in case of an evacuation, said Jones.

The district already had a staff meeting scheduled for Wednesday, but Jones said he now plans to devote a chunk of time reviewing the district's crisis procedures tomorrow. 

Those procedures could not be shared in detail with the general public for safety reasons.