Safety in schools is on everyone’s minds after a shooter killed 17 people at a Florida high school. Now, parents and school staff are looking into better ways to keep classrooms safe.
A Lubbock company believes it has a solution.
Lok Down is a device that can slide over almost any door handle in a matter of seconds. Once it’s on, a person on the outside can’t get in.
Creators hope this device will help students and teachers feel safe while at school.
“When you get into a chaotic situation, you’re not thinking straight,” said Clinton Adams, co-creator of Lok Down.
A common problem with other locks, he said, is they are too complicated for stressful situations.
“You can’t get your keys out, rattle around and get the right keys, especially if there are gunshots,” he said.
When Adams was developing Lok Down, he knew it had to be easy and fast if the device was meant to stop a shooter in their tracks.
“I’m confident this will slow an active shooter down,” said Adams.
The product is easy to use. You take the device and slide it on the doorknob from inside the room. The way it’s designed makes it impossible for the door to be opened from the outside. The device, as of now, only works on doors that swing outward from a room.
“It’s going to slow them down when they can’t get in and go to the other,” said Adams. “They’re going to give up soon and realize they’ve thrown a little hurdle out there.”
After the recent school shooting in Florida, the company has been receiving a lot of calls.
“We’ve mostly been contacted by principals and parent-teacher associations. We’ve been contacted by Lubbock schools, mainly superintendents, principals and stuff like that,” Adams said.
He said having teachers and students feel safe in a classroom is their No. 1 priority.
“I think people are going to school nervous, teachers are nervous. It’s hard for them to do their job when they’re nervous,” said Adams. “I hope it gives people a peace of mind and hopefully slow these things down and stop them.”
The product currently costs $99, and the company is working on building up their stock to start selling bulk orders. So far, no Lubbock school districts have made a purchase order.
