My son, Anthony was at Grace Snell Middle School, next door to McGill. They were on lock down too. There was a man seen by teachers and students, in the woods behind the school. They heard gunshots and both schools were locked down to protect the students. Anthony usually gets home at 4:20, today he got home at 5:00. As a parent, I am really concerned about this. Please say prayers for the kids safety.

My daughter was at middle school and didnt knw why they were on lockdown..smh nor was able to call me...

I suggest that those of us who call ourselves Christian spend more time on our knees praying for our schools and less time defending the right to have a firearm. It's worth a shot (pun intended).

My daughter goes to J.C. Magill Elementary School. She is a Kindergartner there. I am glad she is safe at home with me tonight.

After my 1st, 2nd, & 4th grade children returned home at 4:46 p.m. I was met by my crying 1st grader who told me, “Daddy, a principal was shot and there are guns at my school”. Then my crying 2nd grader interrupted , “No! A man in the woods was shooting a gun.” Finally, my 4th grade son gave me the letter from the principal. He told me, “They said we were safe, but this letter is pretty scary, Dad”. These letters should have been sent in sealed envelopes. Having my 2nd grade daughter read that letter on the way home is completely unacceptable. The words; strange man, gun shots and playground are words she has been repeating all evening, now.

To Magill Elementary Administrators,

While we were felt secure that our children were being protected by procedures and their teachers, we felt that the lack of communication from Magill and Grace Snell Administrators for 1 1/2 hours from the school was ridiculous and terrifying.
A simple recorded message would have been sufficient to calm our fears. Yet over 30 phone calls (neither school answered any of my repeated calls) and countless conversations with neighbors FINALLY led us to the AJC article that was published at 4:18 more than 30 minutes after my children usually arrive home. I drove to Magill to try to see what was wrong, but the officer outside the school would not speak to me and none of the parents in the 1/2 mile long parent pick-up lane knew any information. JC Magill has a twitter account yet still no news from the school. All calls to Magill and Grace Snell are still going unanswered (4:40 p.m.). Magill website has no information. Gwinnett county website has no information.

When my electricity goes out I call Walton EMC and I get a pre-recorded message saying that they know my power is out, but they are on their way to fix it. How my electric company can be more sensitive to my family’s needs than our neighborhood school is completely unacceptable.
Really, how hard could it be to put up a recorded message or a statement on your web page?

My son goes to Georgia Southern and when they have an emergency everyone, including parents get a text. This should be instituted in every school in Georgia. We should demand better!

Thank you Garret good point Bruce

Why is the response of the schools not being praised more? I really would rather my kids be safe rather than the schools to spend their time calling, texting or tweeting. We have to trust the admin. and SRO, along with GCPD to so their jobs. It is the idiots playing with firecrackers behind McGill that are the problems. I am thankful to them for protecting my son.

I am glad that they did good, but then I don't think it's fair that we were left in the dark not knowing what was going on. Friends calling friends that are high up found out. They again could of done a pre recorded message, like Garret Cronnelly said.