Guns, lockdown, elementary schools, hockey players & the power of 140 characters

This afternoon was going to be simple. Play little miss public relations and chauffeur two Everblades players to Gulf Elementary School.

Somewhere in there, word of a man with a gun turned our day upside down.

It's common knowledge among my friends that my driving skills are less than acceptable, so on the drive there I was extremely concerned with keeping the players mildly unscathed.

If I crashed my PT Cruiser and gave former Minnesota Wild first round draft pick A.J. Thelen (who was riding shotgun) another concussion or somehow injured forward Dominic Osman who was half asleep and hungry in the back seat, I had a feeling coach Cameron wouldn't be too pleased with me.

Playoffs are approaching, they need players on the ice... not in the hospital.

After initially wandering into Gulf Middle School on accident (we were greeted with confused looks and 8th grade boys scrambling for autographs), we finally found the elementary portion right up the street.

We walked in and were immediately greeted by a chipper, brunette teacher named Elizabeth.

Elizabeth: "Hi guys!"
Osman: "Where's the bathroom?"

We walked through the main office and into the library ("media center" as they call it). The 3rd, 4th and 5th graders were doing an Olympic-themed project, so the teachers recruited some Everblades to come and talk about what it's like to be a hockey player.

As we stood around waiting for kids, all admiring the hockey puck fashioned out of a can of chewing tobacco (Dominic: "That. Is. Brilliant."), the Principal approached us. He was holding his walkie talkie and seemed very concerned.

He turned to me, A.J., Dominic and a photographer from the Cape Coral Breeze who was also along with us.

Principal: "I'm going to ask an odd question. But I really need to know the answer: were any of you just in the boys bathroom?"

Dominic turned pale (well, as pale as a massively sunburned and peeling redhead can be) and shifted uncomfortably while we all stared at him.

We weren't sure why he wanted to know but to Dominic's obvious relief, he was specifying a different bathroom.

As students filed in, the principal pulled aside a boy who looked about eight-years-old. We could hear bits and pieces of their conversation, and heard something about a "man in a black shirt."

Five minutes later, the intercom buzzed on.

"This is a code red. All students and teachers must head to classrooms immediately."

The three of us stood around confused, unsure of what to do or where to go. This isn't standard procedures at player appearances.

A students started to slowly stream out of the media center, one concerned teacher turned around towards us and mouthed, "There's a man with a gun."

Absolutely surreal words.

Me, the guys, Elizabeth and the Breeze photographer ended up sitting in a classroom around a kid-sized table in the dark. Gulf Elementary was kind enough to provide us with a giant sub sandwich,cookies and fruit. At the very least, we had food.

I wasn't very nervous. My reporter instincts kicked in and my first thought was: "I have to text my editor." (I know, I know. But just being honest.)

Me: "I'm at gulf elementary with the Everblades and they are giving us a code red and locking down the building... there's someone with a gun."
Tom Hanson (Naples Daily News' crime editor): "where is school"
Me: "Cape coral. Just what teachers are saying to me... Its definitely not a drill."
Tom: "r u still in school"
Me: "Yes. Lock down. Lights off."
Tom: "I gave nbc2 your number..."

Next stop: Twitter.

@caitykauffman: At Gulf Elementary on a code red lock down. Supposedly a gun in building. Things are calm, I'm eating sandwiches with the players.

Once I tweeted, things exploded. Alas, the magic of Twitter.

NBC-2 reporters were soon texting me (thanks to Tom), WINK News reporters started texting me (I just interviewed sports director Clayton Ferraro the day before) and I was getting e-mails in the dozens of new followers. The News-Press even posted my Twitter updates on their website.

I had a few frantic parents tweet me, and a few said they were somewhat relieved that someone in the building had some information. I didn't have much besides what I could hear outside (helicopters, etc.) - but I didn't hear gun shots - and that was all that mattered at that point.

I texted my boss, John, the broadcaster and public relations go-to guy for the team. I was doing him a favor and driving the guys.

Me: "Okay dude. We all deserve extra stuff [gift certificates]. There's a code red lock down and someone with a gun at the school. This is f-ing ridiculous."
John: "What is going on?? Seriously"

Elizabeth looked over to A.J., who had taken off his jersey and was wearing just a dark colored polo shirt.

Elizabeth: "A.J. They said the suspect is wearing a black shirt. Your shirt is black."
A.J.: "Its dark brown!"
Elizabeth: "Uhhh... put your jersey back on."

Pretty soon, the other guys on the team got word of the appearance gone awry.

A.J.: "Uh oh. Mally's calling." (Coach Malcolm Cameron) "Yeah, coach. I'm not kidding. A Gun."

Dominic was texting veteran Ernie Hartlieb (I'm sure in his four years wearing an Everblade sweater and hundreds of appearances, I bet Ernie's never seen this happen at an appearance), I was texting Ryan VanBuskirk (who was supposed to be at the appearance instead of Dominic), and A.J. was texting Milan Gajic.

Me: "Wow guys. This definitely isn't in your contracts."
A.J.: "No shit."

Overall though, the guys were fantastic sports about the whole situation. They were calm, kept things light-hearted, and waited patiently.

The roast beef sandwiches probably helped.

Throughout the hour we were in lock down, we heard helicopters circling overhead, random thumps and bangs, and at one point could see through the window there were police walking down the hallways with their guns drawn.

Around 2:30, one hour after the initial code red, we got the all clear. Official word is the rumor of the shooter was a hoax.

Today was definitely a lesson in the power of social media. Twitter is an instant way to be connected with the entire world. I'm pretty sure I was the one who broke the story to the entire local media. Simultaneously and instantly, my tweets kept the concerned parents of those kids in the know of what was happening from someone inside the same walls as the "gunman."

I also heard WINK News mentioned my tweets on-air. Sweet.

Next time you Twitter-haters knock it, remember the parents who found relief in a 140-character tweet.

Here's a few links to the news stories:

News-Press.comNaplesnews.com/Everblades