HR 15 (LSB 2535YH (2) 90)

HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 15

BY  GAINES

A Resolution honoring the responders to the March 7, 2022, East High School shooting.

   WHEREAS, on March 7, 2022, approximately 40 shots were fired at students from vehicles in front of East High School in Des Moines; and
   WHEREAS, campus monitor Jontay Williams and associate principal Anthony Gianaras responded to the situation within one minute by moving the school into an external lockdown, contacting 911 for the three students who had been shot, and immediately relocated to where the students had been shot to secure the area and tend to the students; and
   WHEREAS, associate principal Lisa Harrington rapidly executed lockdown protocols to prevent further harm to students; and
   WHEREAS, campus monitor Larry Mason, associate principal Rich Newkirk, teacher Trisha Buckley, and juvenile court liaison Jill McIlhon rushed to Mr. Williams and Mr. Gianaras’s position to comfort, hold, and tend to students who had been shot or escaped from the shooting until paramedics and law enforcement arrived, and continued to support students after emergency responders arrived; and
   WHEREAS, paramedics and law enforcement arrived at the scene within minutes and immediately mobilized to provide medical care and protect the school; and
   WHEREAS, director of high schools Mike Vukovich assisted in coordinating with school staff to procure resources for East High School after the shooting; and
   WHEREAS, the teachers of East High School maintained calm in their classrooms throughout the lockdown in a situation that could have easily led to panic; and
   WHEREAS, associate principal William Crosby coordinated with others throughout the campus to track the whereabouts of each person in the school and dismiss students in an orderly fashion that would not interfere with emergency responders; and
   WHEREAS, the office staff for East High School were highly active in communicating with emergency services, students, and student families to provide everyone with as much information and services as possible; and
   WHEREAS, in the tragedy two students sustained critical injuries and a third suffered fatal wounds; and
   WHEREAS, bilingual family liaison Rosario Jimenez comforted and supported the families of the victims at the time of the shooting and in the days to follow; NOW THEREFORE,

   BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, That the House of Representatives honors the staff, faculty, and first responders at East High School for their extraordinary courage, professionalism, and compassion in the face of a deadly shooting on March 7, 2022, and in the days following; and

   BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That upon passage of this resolution, the chief clerk of the House shall transmit a copy of this resolution to Jill Versteeg, principal of East High School.