An American mum has prepped her five-year-old son for school by running active shooter drills and arming him with a bullet-proof backpack. Cassie Walton, 23, made the devastating decision to teach her son, Weston, for a shooting ahead of his first day.
Her decision comes after a gunman killed 19 children at Uvalde Elementary School, in Texas, USA, which is just 500 miles from the Waltons' home in McAllister, Oklahoma. She taught her son to run and hide when he heard danger, and a video of her training session shows him ducking down behind his bag - which has been modified to be bulletproof.
What do you think about Cassie's school prep? Let us know in the comments...
Cassie, a stay-at-home mum of two, said: "I think it’s really important for Weston to be prepared even if he never needs to use it.
"He knows the severity of the situation and knows that it’s a possibility that there could be an active shooter at his school.
"We’ve done the drills a few times at home, and he does them at school with his classmates.
"We’ll do them every few months with him, so he knows what to do."
Cassie - who had shooter training herself when she was at school - decided to teach Weston what to do after an attack on Uvalde Elementary School, Texas, killed 19 young children and two adults.
"It was so scary and sad to hear about," Cassie said.
"I just thought that if I can make sure Weston is informed and prepped then it might save him in a situation like that.
"Weston saw some of the coverage on the TV and asked about if it could happen to him and why someone would do something like that.
"I answered him honestly, so he knows the severity of it all."
Cassie taught Weston to run and hide and bought him a bulletproof backpack which he has in the classroom with him at all times.
"I did a drill with him before he started school, but I follow what they teach children," she said.
"I tell him to go to the corner and huddle together with classmates.
"He knows to run past his backpack and get that on the way.
"If a shooter is in the room with him, he knows to stay quiet and if he gets out, he knows to run as far as he can."
Cassie remembers her own training as a child in high school, where she was taught ALICE - Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate.
"We had a bomb threat once and a lockdown when someone was walking past with a weapon," she said.
For more of the news you care about, straight to your inbox, sign up for one of our daily newsletters here.
"But everything seems worse now so it’s even more important to be prepared."
Cassie - who lives with her husband, Stoney Walton, 24, a car salesman - says she will also teach their youngest Huston, two, the drills when he gets old enough.
"It’s good to have conversations about it," Cassie said.
"I don’t sugar coat it, but I don’t go into detail."
Do you have a story to sell? Get in touch with us at yourmirror@mirror.co.uk
