Recently, several West Windsor-Plainsboro schools were put into lockdown due to alleged duck hunters at Plainsboro Pond. The police used their assets to try to locate the hunters, but no suspects were detained. Both my sister (who directs “Bang Bang You’re Dead,” a play meant to inform children about gun violence and school shootings) and I had extremely emotional reactions to this lockdown, as we have all seen the reality of gun violence, particularly in schools, all too much lately.
Afterwards, I went online and searched for articles that could explain the reasoning behind the issuing of this security measure. What I found in the comments section were people using the lockdown as an excuse to decry and vilify the school district and police department, saying how by calling a lockdown for “hunters” we demonized guns and overreacted to legal actions; saying things such as “Just another excuse to bring out the armed troops” and “This is where our tax dollars go?”
Many legitimate points were brought up: For example, the hunters could be walking with guns to a legal hunting area, or that they were engaged in no illegal behavior, as we have no proof that the guns were loaded or uncased.
But the truth of the matter is there are no hunting grounds within 10 miles of Plainsboro Pond, the entire area is residential and directly across from a middle school. Even if these people were actually hunting, due to the absence of a bullet-stopping wall a stray bullet could have easily hit a child. Whether or not any action was illegal does not matter; the fact remains that unknown men with the ability to apply lethal force were near a middle school, which is undoubtedly reasonable grounds for suspicion and action.
I, being a student at High School South, and my fellow students applaud the district’s swift action in locking down the schools and the police’s search for these individuals. Every child’s life is precious, and the fact that there is a distinct possibility children could have been harmed is grounds for a lockdown and police action.
There is an “It could never happen here!” mentality in West Windsor-Plainsboro when dealing with gun violence, and I hope this recent event will help shake it off. It is better to have an unnecessary lockdown now, then to lose lives to oversight later.
Marco Kaisth
Freshman, High School South
Editor’s note: For more information on laws covering hunting in Plainsboro and West Windsor, see story, page 26.
