A California teacher says school shootings are now so common that he’s been forced to store a “poop bucket” in his classroom so students can relieve themselves during a lockdown.
The educator — known online as Larry Lexicon — took to TikTok in the wake of Monday’s Nashville school shooting to share footage of himself explaining the function of the bright yellow bucket to his students.
“So it turns out people don’t know why we have these buckets in the classroom — t’s because of school shootings,” Lexicon said in the video, which has gone viral, clocking up more than 3 million views in 24 hours.
“I hate to just say it bluntly like that, but when I first started teaching, we didn’t have these buckets,” he continued. “Now every classroom has a bucket like this because we go into lockdown, and we’re locked in our classrooms for extended periods of times while the situation is dealt with.”
The educator revealed that he also stores an array of emergency supplies inside the receptacle, including toilet paper and blankets to “cover dead bodies.”
The students looked stunned by the revelation, with one girl seen covering her mouth as she gasped.
Lexicon posted the footage following Monday’s mass shooting at the Covenant School in Nashville, Tenn. Three children and three staff members were killed by shooter Audrey “Aiden” Hale, 28, who opened fire with an assault-style weapon.
Police shared on Tuesday that the shooter had amassed an arsenal of seven weapons despite being under medical care for an “emotional disorder.”
Hale was shot dead at the scene by two police officers.
There were 51 school shootings in 2022 that resulted in injuries or deaths — the most in one year since Education Week began tracking such incidents three years ago. Prior to 2022, the highest number of school shootings with injuries or deaths was 35 in 2021. There were 10 in 2020, and 24 in both 2019 and 2018.
The Post has reached out to Lexicon for comment.
In his now-viral clip, the teacher subsequently declared: “If we end up in a situation where any of you have to use this bucket, it’s going to be a blessing. You know why? Because it means you’re alive.”
He also explained that some people have been outraged about the installation of the bathroom buckets in classrooms across California.
“Those of you who are upset about the buckets, you’re upset about the wrong thing,” he stated. “You should be upset they [have to] exist.”
The buckets have become commonplace in California classrooms over the three years.
A 2020 op-ed penned by a Golden State teacher, which was published in the Los Angeles Times, stated: “My public school classroom, like many others in Ventura County — and most counties in California — now has its very own poop bucket.”
“There are few indicators of public surrender that can be applied to an entire country, but it seems clear that the placing of primitive portable toilets in classrooms speaks volumes regarding the mindset of U.S. officials on the issue of gun violence in schools,” the op-ed continued.
“My bucket of preparation speaks for all to hear: ‘Shooting in schools is here to stay, so let’s just accommodate.'”
Meanwhile, TikTok users were outraged by Lexicon’s poop bucket video, with one writing: “This breaks my heart. No child should be going to a school that needs a bucket!”
Follow The Post’s coverage of the school shooting in Nashville
Another wrote: “I literally have a knot in my throat while watching this.”
Meanwhile, hundreds gathered outside Nashville’s State Capitol Thursday morning to rally for gun control in the wake of the shooting Monday at The Covenant School.
The demonstration drew a large crowd of all ages, including parents with young children in strollers and students in school uniforms.
The march was reportedly organized by AWAKE, a Tennessee nonprofit dedicated to improving conditions for women and children in the state. In a Facebook post, the group detailed its plant to gather at the Capitol ahead of the House’s 9 a.m. floor session.
“Then we will sing and we will let our elected officials know we demand an end to gun violence and we demand common sense gun laws,” the announcement read.
Local news outlet WTVF reported Thursday morning that the gathering was also spearheaded by Metro Nashville Public Schools Parents.
The protesters wielded signs and chanted “What do we want? Gun control! When do we want it? Now!” as they ascended the steps of the Capitol with choral music playing in the background.