An Oregon teacher is suing her rural school district over the lingering stress she feels following a surprise active shooter drill that administrators held in 2013. Linda McLean was in her classroom at Pine Eagle Charter School in the tiny town of Halfway in August of that year when a masked man in a hoodie burst in with a gun, lowered it to her head and pulled the trigger. The 56-year-old elementary school teacher had no clue it was a drill to test her 'preparedness' or that the gun was loaded with blanks. 'You're dead,' the shooter said. Shooter drill: Pine Eagle Charter school in Halfway, Oregon was the scene of a surprise 'active shooter' drill that's left teacher Linda McLean with post-traumatic fears years later . In fact, she believed for a several moments that she would soon die. Now, years after learning of the 'harebrained scheme,' Oregon Live reports that McLean is still traumatized by the event. 'McLean could not figure out what was going on,' reads the lawsuit. 'She felt very confused. Her heart was racing. She walked out of the classroom and saw a pistol lying on the ground . 'She wondered if she was really shot and was going to die.' Class was out of session that day and school officials had warned emergency services in the area not to show up should any teachers call 911. They also ran checks on all the teacher to make sure none of them had concealed weapons permits, should they decide to fight back. The two masked 'intruders' stormed a room where several teachers had gathered. 'It was shocking,' teacher Dollie Beck admitted at the time, but 'it heightened my awareness about what's around me.' But well afterwards, says the complaint, McLean's awareness was possibly too heightened. 'She could not shake the event but continued to relive it and try to make sense of it, . 'Ms. McLean could not sleep, and remained anxious and vigilant. When she drifted off to sleep, she experienced nightmares and sweating.' Doctors diagnosed McLean with post-traumatic stress disorder and urged her to return to the school as a form of desensitization. However, 'when she returned she was short of breath, anxious, emotionally distressed, and had to leave. She has not returned to the school building since.' Now McLean wants reparations  'for her involuntary separation from employment, her medical and psychological treatment, and the loss of retirement contributions and fringe benefits.' She is suing members of the school board, the masked safety officer who ambushed her, school administrators and the alarm company that services the school for punitive damages and attorney fees.
Linda McLean was in her elementary school classroom in tiny Halfway, Oregon in 2013 when she was surprised by a man in a mask with a gun .