DETROIT (Michigan News Source) – Fifty children and 90 staff members at a Michigan psychiatric hospital will receive portions of a $13 million settlement stemming from a December 2022 unannounced acting shooter drill.
A judge approved the settlement for those inside in the state-run Hawthorn Center during the unannounced active shooter drill. The lawsuit said organizers of the event did not tell patients, most employees, local police, dispatchers, or EMS about the drill. The center commissioned two employees to pose as fake intruders while police surrounded them with guns. An announcement over the loudspeaker set off a flurry of events.
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“Everyone went into, ‘Oh my God. This is the worst day of my life,’” attorney Robin Wagner said. “People were hiding under their desks. They were barricading the doors, trying to figure out how to protect the children.”
Hawthorn Center has since closed closed for reasons unrelated to what happened.
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