Learning shooting drills along with their ABCs: American childhood has become a nightmare

There have been more mass shootings than days in the year so far in the US in 2023, while 22 of those have been at schools. When Taylor Mulligan moved to Ireland, she realised her years of training for an active shooter were not necessary here. And she realised how dark American childhood has become

In America, lunch money, equipment for music or gym class, and an active shooter plan comes with the kiss goodbye at drop off.

We practised choir in a dark, narrow room with large double doors, located directly in front of the stage so passers-by could see the rehearsals inside.

The curtains were deep red theatre curtains, whose lush velvet pile I can still feel when I think about choir practice that day.

Because I hid behind them for three hours as an armed man ran around outside my school, and every passing shadow at the window had our teacher jumping in fear.

It was 2010, and very few children had cell phones. I was not one of them, so I had no clue what was going on as our teacher whispered instructions to hide against the wall, out of view from the doors.

We gathered around those with phones to whisper terrified questions about what was happening as others texted their parents.

Bizarrely, what we most worried about was being caught by the teacher with a phone out.

We were not released until later that evening, with very little information.

What we did learn about the man who had prowled outside was shared within the warmth of our parents’ arms when we walked in the door of our homes.

Taylor Mulligan: 'It was a huge culture shock for me to come here and feel safe enough using public transportation.' Picture: Brendan Gleeson

That was the first of three non-drill school lockdowns I experienced in secondary school.

Everyone back home in the US has a story. If they have not been impacted, they know someone who has.

After the University of North Carolina at Charlotte shooting, my youngest cousin feared for the life of her boyfriend who was a student there.

Once he assured her he was OK, he described how he had walked out of his dorm room and seen blood on the floor before locking his door and holing up in his room for the rest of the day.

When I first arrived in Ireland to study at UL, I was shocked to find the gardaí don’t carry guns or any other weapons besides a baton and pepper spray.

My own father was a cop back in New York and he always had his gun on him even when he was off duty.

He didn’t even feel safe in our own city.

Ireland a huge culture shock

It was a huge culture shock for me to come here and feel safe enough using public transportation.

I began to notice teenagers on the buses after school by themselves.

My initial reaction was a deep feeling of concern.

I was not allowed to walk my neighbourhood by myself at that age, let alone take our public buses.

At first, I didn’t understand how people could allow their children to travel alone.

I couldn’t grasp the idea, but within a few months of being in Ireland, my anxiety had dropped tenfold.

I was able to go out for a day in the city by myself without being constantly on edge and ready to run on a moment’s notice.

Before I knew it, I had broken a decade-old habit of mentally setting up escape plans and mapping where the exits were in every building.

Finally, I could breathe and carry on about my day focusing on normal things.

The contrast with the US, where even a trip to a grocery store may not be safe, is stark.

When an Irish friend’s young niece in the US, who is only around seven years old, mentioned in a casual chat about her day at school that she had outgrown her hiding spot and needed to find a new one for drills, my friend was horrified.

But in America, lunch money, equipment for music or gym class, and an active shooter plan comes with the kiss goodbye at drop off.

Shooting drills

School regulations for shooting drills differ on a state-to-state basis, but they all follow the Department of Homeland Securities' booklet on active shooter response.

It says if a shooter is nearby and you can’t evacuate, lock the door, silence all cell phones, and hide behind any furniture or cabinets while waiting for the police to arrive.  

A shrill alarm goes off as the principal hops on a speaker and announces a shooting drill will now commence.

Instructions are given to lock the doors and pull all the blinds down. This task is often split among a teacher and their students to be more time efficient.

The 10th anniversary of the Sandy Hook School Shooting passed last December, but the horror continues for those affected.

A growing third-grade student runs to their usual spot in a closet or under a small children’s desk, only to find themselves too big for their previously cramped, but suitable hiding spot — like my friend’s niece.

They scramble to the furthest wall from the door, line up with a few others who couldn’t find a spot and try their very best to pretend that they’re playing a game of statues.

Growing up in the American school system is unlike childhood in any other first-world country. Children begin training for school shooting and bomb drills from the moment they learn their ABCs in kindergarten, until their last days as a senior in high school, ready to take on the world as young adults.

It is not unusual to hear of people who have witnessed not just one, but multiple mass shootings.

Regardless of other countries, and parents piping up about how unsafe the current gun regulations (or lack thereof) are, the government steers clear of making any significant changes.

To see young children here with no fear as they go about their typical day — one that excludes metal detectors or clear backpack rules — makes me desperately sad for the lost childhoods of so many back home.

My only hope for the next generation is for the US to place stricter regulations on firearms, or for a ban on automatic weapons, to at least diminish the amount of damage done in a short timeframe.

According to the Gun Violence Archive, as of May 1, there had been 184 mass shootings in the US and a total of 5,971 gun deaths. That’s more than one mass shootings a day — 184 mass shootings in 121 days.

More than 465m firearms have been manufactured for the US firearms market since 1899.

Under federal law, licensed dealers must maintain records of firearm sales and are required to respond to inquiries about sales from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.

Yet federal law does not mandate that dealers report sales to any federal authority.

According to the National Shooting Sports Foundation, the “estimated total number of overall firearms in civilian possession is 433.9m”.

It is clear that the exact count is not reported and some documents reporting sales of guns were lost along the way.

The 10th anniversary of the Sandy Hook School Shooting passed last December, but the horror continues for those affected.

It appears there is no end in sight as fresh school shootings pop up in the news every week.

The TV show Good Morning America asked survivors of school shootings to write letters to the future survivors who will inevitably suffer as they have, as the country fails to protect its own children.

What the rhetoric of “our Second Amendment rights” is saying to everyone is that Americans are holding the value of guns over the lives of children.

It is only from afar that the darkness of an American childhood and the bizarre deal our politicians have done with the devil becomes truly clear.