A Michigan high school is spending $48 million on curved hallways and \'wing-walls\' to prevent mass shootings

First responders walk the halls at Boardman High School after a lockdown drill on Feb. 14, 2019, in Boardman, Ohio.First responders walk the halls at Boardman High School after a lockdown drill on Feb. 14, 2019, in Boardman, Ohio.Tony Dejak/AP Images

Reports that a Michigan high school is spending $48 million to redesign its buildings in an effort to thwart a potential mass shooting sparked outrage on Tuesday among proponents of gun control. 

The Fruitport, Michigan school is building curved hallways, protective walls, and other safety features in response to recent mass shootings in schools, including at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida last year.

"One of the ideas of this curved hallway is to cut down on the line of sight of an active shooter," the school's superintendent, Bob Szymoniak, told NBC News in a segment that drew attention online. He added that the school added so-called "wing walls" for students to hide behind in the event of a shooting. 

 

The NBC segment drew attention online, where many pointed out that school shootings have become frighteningly common. Some gun control advocates argued that schools are doing more to try to prevent mass shootings than the Republican leadership in Washington. 

"Curved walls. Hiding places. Designed for our children to take cover. To deter active shooters. Schools are literally being redesigned because shootings have become so common - yet @senatemajldr still refuses to act," California Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, tweeted in response to the story, laying blame on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.

 

"The problem isn't straight walls and not enough hiding places in schools," one Twitter user wrote. "It's the killings. Other countries don't have curved-walled schools. You're normalising the problem." 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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