Guns on campus, students arrests prompt ongoing talk about school safety and security
Cathy Emrick has heard time and time again school officials responding to an incident involving guns on campus in the Triangle
"It's heartbreaking and scary," Emrick said.
Emrick's kids are too jaded to be stirred by the spate of weapon scares and false threats that forced some schools in February to dismiss early.
"They've both lost people they know to gun violence, and it wasn't even surprising to them, which is as almost as heartbreaking as the fact that they've known people that that have died to gun violence," Emrick said.
The Durham County Sheriff's Office arrested a 14-year-old and an 18-year-old suspect in two separate incidents involving guns on school campuses, including Hillside High School that recently lost a 17-year-old student in another separate incident.
"You're supposed to protect your children and keep them safe," Emrick said. "But we're just doing a really terrible job of protecting our kids from firearms and gun violence."
School officials praised the anonymous reporting system and school resource officers that led to the recent arrests.
However, more can be done to keep the weapons off campus, according to DPS Board Chair Bettina Umstead.
"I want to understand the root causes of why students feel that it might be necessary to bring a weapon on to campus," Umstead said. "I think about increasing support for counselors, and for social workers and making sure that we have well-qualified teachers in every single classroom to create engaging and enriching lessons for our students."
