Hostile intruders, often armed and looking to hurt people, have become an unacceptably and sadly frequent occurrence in America. And although there has not been a school shooting in Alaska in nearly 30 years, Anchorage school staff have confiscated multiple weapons from students in that time, and Anchorage police have been called when adults take their arguments with guns near school grounds.

School violence — whether shootings or threats or someone walking into the building looking to settle a fight or start an argument — are among the worst nightmares any parent, child or community could imagine.

And while Wrangell feels safer than Anchorage, communities across the country hit by school violence thought they were safe too. Preparing and hoping the day will never come is the right decision, rather than thinking it can never happen.

Police and fire, borough and school officials, SEARHC and the state wildlife trooper stationed in Wrangell gathered March 16 at the Public Safety Building to run through a tabletop exercise, talking through how they would respond if a hostile intruder ever threatened Wrangell students.

The group worked through the timeline of a hypothetical attack, talking about how each agency or office would and could and should react; how to protect children; how to keep the public informed; and how the police department’s new “virtual panic button” will work to instantly notify school and law enforcement personnel of any threats.

Everyone in the exercise hopes they never have to confront a situation that endangers students, but they are smart to be prepared. It’s better to plan and be ready than to be surprised.

There have been at least eight school shootings in the country so far this year — five at colleges and three at K-12 schools. In 2025, there were at least 78 shootings, with 32 killed and 122 injured. In 2024, records show at least 83 incidents of gun violence at schools, all according to a CNN analysis of events reported by the Gun Violence Archive, Education Week and Everytown for Gun Safety.

No one can look at those numbers and not feel pain for the children and their families, teachers and school staff, and the communities. Aside from political, legislative and social answers to the problem, all a town can do is prepare for the worst and hope it never happens in their community.

Wrangell officials are doing the right thing, no matter how hard it is to conceive of it happening here.