He was getting ready to go furniture shopping.

Then, Ben Adams got a text from his daughter. Her school was locked down, and she was scared.

A few moments later, the off-duty firefighter got a call from a co-worker.

This was real. There had been a shooting at the school.

#MohawkStrong:The untold story behind Madison's school shooting

Adams and his wife, a nurse, were among the first people to respond to the Madison Jr./Sr. High School. They saw blood on the cafeteria floor, scattered lunch trays and helped treat two of the injured students.

At the time, they didn't know if their children were OK. Adams knew his son was supposed to have lunch around that time.

Thoughts of his son being dead flashed through his mind.

It's the thing he still vividly remembers, more than two years later. The fear of not knowing.

After Adams gathered his children and went home, where he could see the school's football field from his backyard, he remembers looking out the window and seeing multiple helicopters flying around.

Adams was born and raised in Madison Township, a rural community about 40 miles north of Cincinnati.

"We truly love Madison," he told The Enquirer. "It's the only place I've ever known."

But on Wednesday, Adams joined four other Madison parents and filed a lawsuit against the school district.

In it, they claimed district officials are allowing teachers and other staff to carry weapons during school without proper training.

Madison officials have said staff must have their concealed carry license and complete a thorough training and rigorous review process, but the lawsuit claims the training is not even close to what's required under state law.

When reached by The Enquirer, Madison Superintendent Lisa Tuttle-Huff disagreed.

"The District’s highest priority is the safety of every child in our community," Tuttle-Huff said in an email.

She declined to comment further.

Erin Gabbard, another parent in the lawsuit, said her family moved to Butler County specifically for the schools. She grew up in Indiana and then had two children with her husband in Northside.

But Gabbard worked from home and ached for the wide-open countryside of her childhood. She moved into the school district eight years ago to get it back.

"We fell in love," she said in an interview. "It was perfect."

Then, the shooting.

It was chaos. Gabbard cried in her minivan as she waited in a long line of parents trying to get to the school.

She knew her kids were OK, but she needed to see them. When they were released, she said, the students were quiet.

A school shooter, in his own words:'I wasn't wanted by anyone'

On Feb. 29, 2016, a 14-year-old student brought a handgun to Madison Schools and shot two students at lunch. Two others were injured. No one died.

For the rest of the school year, anytime Gabbard heard sirens from her home office she got in her van and drove to the school to make sure nothing was wrong.

She doesn't do this anymore, Gabbard told The Enquirer through tears, but she has a police scanner she still checks when she hears sirens. And now, when she drops her 10-year-old and 8-year-old off at school, she worries she made the wrong decision moving here.

School shootings:Grandfather confronts Madison school board, police escort him out.

Gabbard hasn't told her children their teachers could have guns. She doesn't want them to be scared.

Most of Adams' children are older. He's overheard them joking about which teachers would shoot a student.

Madison school shooting:Student shot at school in Ohio gets detention for school-shooting protest

In April, Madison school officials unanimously voted to allow armed teachers. The decision, which came after a plea not to from one of the students who was shot, has sparked heated debate.

Some have even protested in a park near the school.

The lawsuit, filed in Butler County Common Pleas Court, came after a national nonprofit advocating for gun control got involved.

But Adams said he is a gun owner.

"This is not a gun issue for me. This is not about whether guns should be in schools or people should carry guns," he said. "This is about proper training."

As a new school year started last month, parents believe some teachers are now carrying weapons. The district hasn't said.

The lawsuit says officials' plan to arm staff has been "shrouded in secrecy."

"We're just asking for some answers," Gabbard said. "We're asking to be part of the process."

The district was scrutinized in March when officials punished a student shot in the cafeteria for participating in a national walkout protest. That student, Cooper Caffrey, said the discussion about bringing more guns into school felt like being shot all over again.

Arming teachers:Despite plea from school shooting victim, Ohio school votes to allow armed teachers

Madison student:My school had a shooting; this is why I risked detention to walk out.

The shooter, James "Austin" Hancock, pleaded guilty to attempted murder in 2016 and was sentenced to juvenile detention until he turns 21. Austin blamed the shooting on his home life and said he had been abusing Adderall for about a year.

The civil lawsuit against the school seeks a court order to stop any Madison staff from carrying weapons until they complete additional training.

Rachel Bloomekatz, an attorney for the parents suing Madison, said this lawsuit could have far-reaching implications for other districts in Ohio that have moved to arm teachers.

"These parents have talked to me about what the dropoff feels like. About what putting their kids on the bus feels like," Bloomekatz said. "No parent should have to feel like that."

No future court dates have been scheduled.

This weekly column is a look around Butler and Warren counties from Enquirer Reporter Keith BieryGolick. Send tips, questions and hate mail to kbierygolick@enquirer.com.