PAWLEYS ISLAND, SC (WBTW) – The mother of a child killed in the Sandy Hook school shooting shared her story with people on the Grand Strand.
Michele Gay’s seven-year-old daughter Josephine was one of the 26 people killed during the 2012 massacre.
“He fired on that window and gained access through the hole in a matter of seconds,” Gay said during a presentation at Waccamaw High School in Pawleys Island.
Gay now advises schools nationwide how to respond in the event of a tragedy or prevent one from happening.
More than five years later, Gay says she still clearly recalls the chaos at the school in Newtown, Connecticut.
“I remember all of the people around us just scrambling to do the very best that they could without much of a plan (and) without having worked together before,” she said.
Gay created Safe and Sound Schools, an organization that aims to improve school safety across the country.
She says it’s up to teachers, first responders and students to figure out what’s going on at school and where a school isn’t safe enough.
“Students have fresh eyes and a fresh perspective,” she said. “They can look at these things and say, ‘Wait a minute. What is that really doing for us?'”
On Wednesday, officials say one student reported another student had a gun at Georgetown Middle School. That student found with a gun faces criminal charges.
The Georgetown County School District also uses an app called Quick Tip to report any suspicious activity.
“There’s a culture of safety that the student felt comfortable in reporting it, and our administrators work on that,” said Alan Walters, the district’s safety and risk management director.
Gay says first responders should also practice handling emergencies at schools, while working with school staffs so they’re prepared as well.
“We talk a lot at safe and sound schools about making sure that you’re doing the third ‘a,'” Gay said. “You’re not just assessing, you’re not just creating an action plan, but you’re also auditing it, you’re testing and you’re checking.”
Gay also spoke to middle and high school students in Pawleys Island Wednesday.