Have you been in a lockdown situation?

Many years ago I was getting ready to start the night shift for repairs I was contracted to do in the Dirkson Federal Building in Downtown Chicago. All of a sudden there are cops and FBI all over the place and we were told to stay put as a gunman took a Judge hostage in one of the courtrooms. All doors were locked and the elevators were shut down for over 4 hours. We were finally allowed to get our trucks out of the parking garage after midnight and told to leave.

Those 4 hours might have felt like 40 at that moment..

No, but I’ve been in a shelter-in-place situation more than once as police and SWAT teams scoured the neighborhood for escaped suspects. It made me think very consciously about how vulnerable we are and how easily the illusion of security in our everyday routines can be disrupted.

Edited please flag my first quip for too many typos. I shrugged my shoulders in a mental hospital and the worker pushed the security button and 17 adults grabbed me and hurled me into locked cell for a day. I was in lock down until the doctor saw me and let me go. I never refused medication ever again. It was like Thor when he was in a hospital. I also got a needle in the butt. I watched tv In my mind and enjoyed the experience. I also got three excellent meals while I waited for the psychiatrist to set me free. I also watched a couple of lady bugs walking out of my cell. I had a broken hand and they grabbed all my joints except the hand… they actually cared about me.

Nope, but my kids were when, two years ago tomorrow, on a graduating senior assembly/picnic day, a kid posted a threat on Facebook. School was locked down, text messages and details blasted to the community, dozens of police everywhere. All resolved when the kids was found at home an hour later.

Meanwhile parents not allowed near the school.

I was in a Venezuelan prison for 92 days. We were under lockdown every time a “situation” occurred, which was about once a week or more. It was an excuse for the guards to ransack one’s bin and beat and taze those prisoners who had the gall to stand up to the sadistic guard culture.

Sure. I was in high school just after Columbine. We were in lockdowns all the time. Once I was working in the front office of the school and answered the phone for a bomb threat. That was fun.

My girls were when in Jr. High because just a few houses down there was a domestic violence incident and the man had a gun. I had to personally go to the school and show ID to be able to pick up my girls. Bit scary.

Second I was at their High School to pick them up early. Two minutes after walking through the doors I was whisked away by a school official into the copy room/closet. The lights were off and we were told to be silent or whisper. The reason why was because a man got out of police custody, had a gun, and was last seen less than a block away from the school. I was terrified because I couldn’t get a hold of the girls to see if they were ok and where in the school they were. That was horrible.

Back in the early ‘80s while attend ping college, the dorm I lived in was the closest one to the local jail. There were at least two prisoner escapes while living there, and and this dorm went into lockdown mode.