NATCHEZ — A randomly conducted active shooter drill at approximately 10 a.m. Friday alarmed some students at Morgantown Middle School.

Natchez Adams School District Deputy Superintendent Zandra McDonald said the lockdown was one of two active shooter drills that the state requires the school district to conduct during the school year to prepare students for real emergencies.

McDonald said administrators, school personnel and local law enforcement agencies are notified before a drill is going to occur.

McDonald said no advance notice is given to students or parents. However, students had been provided with a handbook at the start of the school year that stated the drills would occur.

“The students are not made aware prior to the drill,” McDonald said. “It’s just like a fire drill or any other drill we do throughout the school year.”

McDonald said an announcement is made over the intercom system alerting everyone that there is a lockdown drill and students and teachers are supposed to act as though a real active shooter were on campus.

“Once the alert is made, teachers have to ensure that their doors are secured and make sure all students on their roster are in the classroom,” McDonald said. “Students are asked to move to a part of the room that is not visible from the windows. In a real active shooter scenario, you would not want the students to be seen by the shooter.”

McDonald said the drill lasts maybe 5 to 10 minutes. School personnel check to see if all the doors are locked and everyone is in their proper place then it’s over, she said.