JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Shock and sadness, it's the only way to describe what it's like watching the tragedy unfold at an elementary school in Connecticut.
"I hope we never see those kinds of things here in Jacksonville," said Paul Soares with Duval County Public Schools. He's been watching too, seeing teachers and police round up scared students and rush them to safety.
While it's impossible to predict a tragedy of this magnitude, Soares says every Duval County school does have an emergency plan in place. When danger comes close to campus, schools are put on lockdown.
"A code yellow," said Soares, "Which is a restrictive one where kids are kept in a classrooms, shades are closed, and they're kept isolated. But kids can still come in and out of the classroom."
A more serious "code red" keeps kids in class, locking them inside, until the threat is gone. Many schools even have police officers on campus.
"At our secondary schools, law enforcement officers and school police. So there is a law enforcement presence there. And at our elementaries, we rely on JSO, calling 911, and our school police try to respond as well."
