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October 12, 2018

Before the Next One

There’s no rulebook on how to handle a school shooting. And no real way to prepare for one. This week, people take what they’ve learned from these tragedies and try to use that knowledge to save others.

Courtesy Melissa Falkowski, whose emergency folder hangs by her classroom door at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. 

Prologue

Prologue

A school in rural Ohio has decided to arm some of its staff, and is practicing how to use the school's new guns in case of an emergency. Reporter Lisa Pollak talks to Ira about how they came to the decision, and what they learned at that training. (7 minutes)

Act One

Ready As You’ll Never Be

Marjory Stoneman Douglas had just completed a schoolwide upgrade on their emergency plans, just a month before the mass shooting at their school. Producer Robyn Semien talks to two teachers at the school about how that training both benefited them, and didn’t. (24 minutes)

Act Two

Keep Breathing

Since losing their daughter in the Aurora, Colorado shooting, Sandy and Lonnie Phillips have gone to the locations of many mass shootings. They know lots about the challenges grieving families face, and have information only people who have lost someone to a shooting can know. Producer Miki Meek follows them from Santa Fe, TX to see who they meet, and to see how they take on the challenge of helping. (23 minutes)