Classrooms at Harrington Park Schools in New Jersey have been transformed into safe rooms after new bulletproof doors were installed this week.
The school's superintendent Adam Fried called the installation of 50 new doors from Englewood Cliffs-based Remo Security a "no-brainer" to help students and staff feel safe in the wake of mass shootings that have gripped the nation.
Each door weighs 150 pounds and as the door locks, 12 metals engage to make the door virtually impossible to open from the outside. The $2,500 door is not only bullet-resistant but its small window is also shatterproof, according to Remo.
Harrington Park used emergency funds to replace old wood doors and the school district also applied for federal security grants.
While New Jersey has among the strictest gun laws and, according to the School Shooting Database, has the lowest school shooting rate per capita of all the states in the country, Fried said he’s not taking any chances when it comes to safety.
"How do we make it the safest it can be and put them in a place that they know it's a loving, nurturing environment," Fried said. "It's a no-brainer for us."
New Jersey schools are required to do lockdown drills once a month and one of the school's teachers say school shootings shouldn't be something kids have to worry about.
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"[Students] will say is it real? And they seem nervous. It’s so sad," 3rd grade teacher Ann Capazzi said.
Omer Barnes, the founder of Remo Security, says that schools, synagogues, yeshivas and all kinds of organizations are using these doors to prevent anymore tragedies like Parkland and the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting.
Growing up in Israel where bomb shelters, called Mamad, are mandatory in all buildings, Barnes was inspired to use similar concepts to fortify American classrooms.
"I remember I would hear the sirens, run to the Mamad, and I was safe, I knew I was safe, physically and mentally," he said.
