It's a scenario no one wants to imagine — an active shooter in the building, stressed children and panicky teachers hurrying to lock doors. A Burnsville custodian has come up with a device that he thinks can help schools caught in such a crisis.
Mark Glende's stretchy black device is an elastic piece with two bands on the end that can be fastened on both the inside and outside door handles. To use it, teachers lock their doors in the morning and hook the elastic piece over the latch so the door pulls open and closed.
In a lockdown, the teacher removes it, the latch goes in the door, and voilà: The door locks.
It's an easy way to lock a door without having to step outside the classroom, giving the teacher enough time to usher students into a corner and turn off the lights, said Glende, 60, who has worked at Sioux Trail Elementary for 18 years.
His device, called Watch-Dawg, is now being used in some suburban school districts.
Glende said he has heard schools say they can't afford his product, which costs $20 per door. That's $1 for every student, he said.
"What you can't afford is another Sandy Hook," he said.
At the Newtown school shootings, substitute teacher Lauren Rousseau didn't have a key to lock her door during Adam Lanza's shooting rampage. She and 14 of the 15 students were killed.
