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'Shootout Drills' in Mexican Schools

by Pat Garcia | July 8, 2010 at 12:27 pm

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Some states are beginning to take measures to protect students in case of shootouts. It´s good to mention that violence has not reached all of the Mexican Republic but it is not the case in some cities like Monterrey, the western town of Bellavista, the northern city of Apodaca, Taxco and others where incidents that put the lives of students in danger have occurred.

Mexico City — Schools across Mexico are teaching students to dive to the floor and cover their heads as the violence-torn country sees more urban gunfights between drug gangs.

At least nine shootouts have erupted in school zones since mid-October, three of them in the past month. On June 15, soldiers and gunmen battled for an hour 60 feet from a preschool in the central town of Taxco.

Several Mexican states require "shootout drills" and incorporate them into summer teacher-training courses, which will begin next week. School ends Friday in most of Mexico.

"We're in a situation like nothing we've ever lived through before, and we need to make sure the children are safe," says Juan Gallardo, director of school safety in the northern state of Tamaulipas.