Supt. Dr. Randal Lutz

Supt. Dr. Randal Lutz was an assistant principal at Harrison Middle School when the World Trade Centers were attacked. 

Initially, Lutz and the other staff members assumed that a small plane had been off course when it crashed into the first tower. Then they turned the television on, saw the footage, and realized what was happening. 

“I remember there was a lot of confusion, and we ran around trying to get the message out to the teachers that we didn’t want the televisions on because we didn’t want the kids trying to see the news footage,” he said.

Looking back, Lutz said the district should have handled the situation differently. 

“We made so many mistakes. We banned the teachers from talking about it. We banned the teachers from showing (news coverage),” Lutz said. “If they wanted to watch it, they had to be in the faculty room with all the doors closed.” 

Lutz recalls all the emotions people felt throughout that week. 

“There was a lot of emotion as you started to learn more, learning about how Shanksville was so close to us and that plane could have flown over Pittsburgh,” Lutz said.