In its statement, the Burlington Police Department said school staff approved the demonstration’s content ahead of time and agreed to let parents and students know. The simulation would involve “fake firearms in a mock shooting,” the department said it wrote to school staff on May 23. “Do you think that sort of incident would be ok for your group of students? It is about as real life as you can get, and is certainly exactly the sort of thing we deal with most frequently.”

“I think these students will be fine with this simulation,” school staff responded, according to the police statement. “We will give a heads up to parents and students.”