In a country divided by arms control, it is the schools themselves that are forced to look for solutions to shootings. And it’s elementary school teachers, like Hali Marquette in Alabamathose in charge of deploying this innovative refuge system in a corner of the classroom in a matter of seconds.

As he moves what appears to be a blackboard, he explains that when it is unfolded, it is what becomes the panic room: “It’s very practical because, under normal conditions, I usually use it to teach them,” he says.

The director of the school affirms that the priority is to keep the little ones safe “in all schools”. The goal is to prevent massacres like the one in uvaldein which an 18-year-old boy killed 19 minors and two teachers.

“The key is that the little ones return home safely,” says Kevin Thomas, creator of the mechanism. A bulletproof system, which is locked from within and which is increasingly common to find in schools across the country.

An invention that tries to reduce the severity of these assaults in the absence of policies against firearmssince “there is no one option that solves all the problems,” according to Eric Mackey, supervisor of colleges in Alabama.

In another pilot experience, this time in Texas, focus on timing how long it takes students to enter a similar panic room, but in this case, permanently installed. In half a minute everyone must crowd inside.

In the past 10 years, at least 63 schools in the United States have experienced more than one violent incident involving weapons.