Anonymous
02/12/2026 18:27
Subject: Did Fallsmead class run out of school and into community during Wootton Shooting?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I don't think you can fault the teacher for this. Seems like the information chain was flawed.
I suspect the teacher isn't at fault here, but that would depend on what information was communicated to her. If it is true that they made it sound like there was an active shooter at the school, then absolutely it wasn't her fault. But we don't know if that is true.
The teacher isn’t at fault. Public school teachers have protection like a Good Samaritan law. Private school teachers are the ones that would get in trouble
This isn't a situation addressed by Good Samaritan laws.
Teachers, public and private, generally wouldn't be found personally liable if they're acting in the scope of their jobs. Public school teachers have more protection, often being covered by some form of sovereign immunity.
Though, in this particular case, a teacher could have a problem if they took the class out during a shelter-in-place, as they would be acting outside the scope of their job by disregarding school policies. Would they ultimately be found personally liable if a child was injured? Probably not, but they're have some exposure.
Regardless, the real question here isn't a matter of legal liability. It is just understanding where the mistake was made so that we can learn from it and do better next time.
+1
No one is suing.
Just simply asking what can we learn from this and how can we improve?
But if MCPS won’t even address this then I guess we’ll just pretend the response was perfect and MCPS doesn’t need to learn anything
Anonymous
02/12/2026 18:26
Subject: Re:Did Fallsmead class run out of school and into community during Wootton Shooting?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Running is not a bad idea.
When they're sheltering due to a threat in the community it is.
It's like running outside for a tornado.
Someone freaked out inappropriately. Probably either the teacher or principal.
They may not have been able to secure the classroom if they just have basic locks and lots of windows - they said some of the classrooms are outdoors so a shooter could easily get it. It was a judgment call and the kids and teacher are all safe and that's important.
If there was a threat in the school, then yes, that would be understandable. But the threat was in the community. Going out into the community is the worst thing to do in that situation.
Some have claimed the school suggested the threat was in the school. If they did that, then that was a serious mistake and we should find out why that happened. But, if they called for a shelter in place, then it suggests the teacher was not properly trained.
Thank you! Finally someone who gets it! No one is saying running isn’t a good idea during an active shooter situation. We’re saying running into danger where there is a shooter at large somewhere in the community… that seems to be a bad idea right?
Anonymous
02/12/2026 18:06
Subject: Did Fallsmead class run out of school and into community during Wootton Shooting?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I don't think you can fault the teacher for this. Seems like the information chain was flawed.
I suspect the teacher isn't at fault here, but that would depend on what information was communicated to her. If it is true that they made it sound like there was an active shooter at the school, then absolutely it wasn't her fault. But we don't know if that is true.
The teacher isn’t at fault. Public school teachers have protection like a Good Samaritan law. Private school teachers are the ones that would get in trouble
This isn't a situation addressed by Good Samaritan laws.
Teachers, public and private, generally wouldn't be found personally liable if they're acting in the scope of their jobs. Public school teachers have more protection, often being covered by some form of sovereign immunity.
Though, in this particular case, a teacher could have a problem if they took the class out during a shelter-in-place, as they would be acting outside the scope of their job by disregarding school policies. Would they ultimately be found personally liable if a child was injured? Probably not, but they're have some exposure.
Regardless, the real question here isn't a matter of legal liability. It is just understanding where the mistake was made so that we can learn from it and do better next time.
Anonymous
02/12/2026 17:55
Subject: Re:Did Fallsmead class run out of school and into community during Wootton Shooting?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Running is not a bad idea.
When they're sheltering due to a threat in the community it is.
It's like running outside for a tornado.
Someone freaked out inappropriately. Probably either the teacher or principal.
They may not have been able to secure the classroom if they just have basic locks and lots of windows - they said some of the classrooms are outdoors so a shooter could easily get it. It was a judgment call and the kids and teacher are all safe and that's important.
If there was a threat in the school, then yes, that would be understandable. But the threat was in the community. Going out into the community is the worst thing to do in that situation.
Some have claimed the school suggested the threat was in the school. If they did that, then that was a serious mistake and we should find out why that happened. But, if they called for a shelter in place, then it suggests the teacher was not properly trained.
Anonymous
02/12/2026 17:45
Subject: Re:Did Fallsmead class run out of school and into community during Wootton Shooting?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:For god’s sake people, no one is blaming the teacher.
The issue is whatever was announced/communicated led to a group of kids running away from safety and into danger.
As MCPS parents, I think we should all be invested in learning from what happens this week so that we don’t make the same mistakes. The next time can be worse.
Is it central staff posting on here??? They seem so quick to divert and say don’t blame ppl. No one is assigning blame. We want to know what can be learned from this and how we can improve.
And on that same note, don’t even get me started on the giant mess that was reunification.
I'm assuming her classroom wasn't safe to handle bullets. All the new buildings should have bulletproof glass and safety measures to lock down the doors quickly and easily to block an intruder. And, older schools should be retrofitted.
I went to Fallsmead years ago. The school building is designed so that all of the classrooms have windows and exterior doors that go directly out to the playground or outside in front of the school in addition to the interior doors inside the school.
There are houses directly across the street that you could run into in 30 seconds from the school (assuming you knew a person would be home to let you in).
Anonymous
02/12/2026 17:44
Subject: Did Fallsmead class run out of school and into community during Wootton Shooting?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I don't think you can fault the teacher for this. Seems like the information chain was flawed.
I suspect the teacher isn't at fault here, but that would depend on what information was communicated to her. If it is true that they made it sound like there was an active shooter at the school, then absolutely it wasn't her fault. But we don't know if that is true.
The teacher isn’t at fault. Public school teachers have protection like a Good Samaritan law. Private school teachers are the ones that would get in trouble
Anonymous
02/12/2026 16:52
Subject: Re:Did Fallsmead class run out of school and into community during Wootton Shooting?
Anonymous wrote:For god’s sake people, no one is blaming the teacher.
The issue is whatever was announced/communicated led to a group of kids running away from safety and into danger.
As MCPS parents, I think we should all be invested in learning from what happens this week so that we don’t make the same mistakes. The next time can be worse.
Is it central staff posting on here??? They seem so quick to divert and say don’t blame ppl. No one is assigning blame. We want to know what can be learned from this and how we can improve.
And on that same note, don’t even get me started on the giant mess that was reunification.
I'm assuming her classroom wasn't safe to handle bullets. All the new buildings should have bulletproof glass and safety measures to lock down the doors quickly and easily to block an intruder. And, older schools should be retrofitted.
Anonymous
02/12/2026 13:37
Subject: Re:Did Fallsmead class run out of school and into community during Wootton Shooting?
For god’s sake people, no one is blaming the teacher.
The issue is whatever was announced/communicated led to a group of kids running away from safety and into danger.
As MCPS parents, I think we should all be invested in learning from what happens this week so that we don’t make the same mistakes. The next time can be worse.
Is it central staff posting on here??? They seem so quick to divert and say don’t blame ppl. No one is assigning blame. We want to know what can be learned from this and how we can improve.
And on that same note, don’t even get me started on the giant mess that was reunification.
The issue is whatever was announced/communicated led to a group of kids running away from safety and into danger.
As MCPS parents, I think we should all be invested in learning from what happens this week so that we don’t make the same mistakes. The next time can be worse.
Is it central staff posting on here??? They seem so quick to divert and say don’t blame ppl. No one is assigning blame. We want to know what can be learned from this and how we can improve.
And on that same note, don’t even get me started on the giant mess that was reunification.
Anonymous
02/12/2026 13:31
Subject: Re:Did Fallsmead class run out of school and into community during Wootton Shooting?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:The kids ran…into the Fallsmead neighborhood while the shooter was hiding in the Fallsmead neighborhood. He was found in the basement of his home on Chantilly Court near Fallsmead.
Whatever chain of events and miscommunications led to a group of children and their teacher to flee from safety into where the danger actually was…needs to be investigated so that this never happen again.
MCPS needs to learn from this.
I’d be thanking that teacher for making the best decision with the information they had. Maybe those kids were outside aready so going back in was not an option. I’ve told my kids to hide and run or play dead if necessary. It’s sad we have to even have these talks with or kids.
This. There was a small class of kids who survived because fled after being told by their teacher to run (she died) during Newtown and were found by a retired man who happened to be in his yard. He took them all immediately inside his home. This is covered in the Netflix documentary.
Don’t blame the teacher in this current case. She was trying to protect her students in an impossible situation.
Anonymous
02/12/2026 13:14
Subject: Did Fallsmead class run out of school and into community during Wootton Shooting?
Anonymous wrote:Saw this in another thread but I feel like this warrants its own thread… can someone attest to this? If this is true, holy shit. Is MCPS not going to own up to this?
What was posted:
Yalll want to talk about lockdown failures? The media isn’t reporting this and MCPS will never own up to this… but ask any Fallsmead parent.
The announcement made at Fallsmead ES made it sound like there was an active shooter in Fallsmead. At least one classroom ran out into the Fallsmead community with their teacher. The ended up sheltering at some kid’s basement.
The irony is that they ran quite literally into danger.
But no…MCPS won’t include that will they??
My Mongolian and Congolese friends what to add a couple of holidays to the calendar as well.
Anonymous
02/12/2026 12:39
Subject: Did Fallsmead class run out of school and into community during Wootton Shooting?
So it sounds like, per normal, we have people bad mouthing a teacher, or school, or the district, without having any actual concrete details and certainly not the full story.
Anonymous
02/12/2026 11:49
Subject: Re:Did Fallsmead class run out of school and into community during Wootton Shooting?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Running is not a bad idea.
When they're sheltering due to a threat in the community it is.
It's like running outside for a tornado.
Someone freaked out inappropriately. Probably either the teacher or principal.
They may not have been able to secure the classroom if they just have basic locks and lots of windows - they said some of the classrooms are outdoors so a shooter could easily get it. It was a judgment call and the kids and teacher are all safe and that's important.
Anonymous
02/12/2026 08:40
Subject: Did Fallsmead class run out of school and into community during Wootton Shooting?
A close family member of mine was in a recent deadly mass school shooting with young children. Having talked to her and watching the videos, it is interesting that people seem to respond much more rationally to actual danger than potential danger.
This does, of course, make sense. The threat is known at that point, and you don't have time to overthink your response. But this implies proper training can help if people follow their training.
This does, of course, make sense. The threat is known at that point, and you don't have time to overthink your response. But this implies proper training can help if people follow their training.
Anonymous
02/12/2026 08:32
Subject: Re:Did Fallsmead class run out of school and into community during Wootton Shooting?
Anonymous wrote:Running is not a bad idea.
When they're sheltering due to a threat in the community it is.
It's like running outside for a tornado.
Someone freaked out inappropriately. Probably either the teacher or principal.
Anonymous
02/12/2026 08:13
Subject: Re:Did Fallsmead class run out of school and into community during Wootton Shooting?
Anonymous wrote:Running is not a bad idea.
Running from an elementary school with zero threats in the school to outside where the shooter actually was…sounds very much like a bad idea.
This wasn’t running from Wootton. This was running from Fallsmead Elementary