Illinois school drill to include shooting blanks in hallway

Parents are upset over a school shooting drill planned in the Chicago suburbs that simulates the sound of gunfire, CBS Chicago reports.

Jay Sargeant, principal of Cary-Grove High School, said in an email to parents that students will participate in a "code red" drill on Wednesday. It will include somebody shooting blanks from a gun in the hallway "in an effort to provide our teachers and students some familiarity with the sound of gunfire."

School spokesman Jeff Puma said the small number of parents who have contacted the school are evenly split for and against the drill.

Parents who are against it say a "code red" drill is probably necessary, but the simulation of gunfire takes it too far and may upset some children.

Parent Sharon Miller called it absurd.

"If you need to run a drill, you can run a drill," Miller told WBBM Newsradio's Bernie Tafoya. "They run fire drills all the time, but they don't run up and down the hallway with a flamethrower."

Puma, the school spokesperson, says Cary-Grove High School has worked closely with local police on the drill plans.

"It was their recommendation that we do this in order to create the knowledge necessary to keep our students safe in an active crisis situation," he said.

Read the entire letter at CBS Chicago.