Two adults were involved in an incident near Cessna Elementary School in Wichita, Kansas that left two people injured. The incident broke the quiet morning at school. The community is shocked by the shooting, which happened near the intersection of 47th and Clarence around 9:20 a.m., and concerns have been raised about the safety of the children and staff. Although no faculty members or children at the school were directly involved in the incident, parents' anxiety grew due to the proximity of the violence to the school and the increased risk of gun violence around educational institutions.
Shots were fired in the neighborhood around 2101 W. 45th Street South, Cessna Elementary, where the incident began. The incident happened a few blocks from the school, according to early reports. After many police units were dispatched to the scene, an investigation into the events that led to the violence was immediately launched. To protect everyone in the area, the officers quickly took control of the situation and blocked the entrance to both the school and the nearby streets. There were many police officers there, and they cooperated with each other to control the situation and prevent it from getting worse.
Following the shooting, the Cessna primary immediately engaged a “lockdown” procedure by activating its emergency response procedures. All entrances and exits to the school are locked as part of this precaution, which is designed to protect staff and children from external dangers while maintaining normal classroom activity. A lockdown is a preventative measure that ensures unauthorized people can access the school, as opposed to a full lockdown, where children and staff remain hidden or protected within the building. Although the teachers and students were informed of the situation, there was a focus on keeping calm and doing the day's lessons in order to reduce the tension.
Ahead of time, school administrators informed parents and guardians about the shooting, assuring them that neither children nor staff were injured in the incident, nor did it take place on school grounds. While the school was secured, the surrounding area was still a crime scene, so school administrators advised parents not to rush to pick up their children from school in their first correspondence. This request was submitted in order to prevent another riot and to provide the police investigators with the time and space required to fully investigate the matter.
