NC school leaders assess safety measures after deadly mass shooting at a Georgia high school

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- School safety is on the minds of many here in North Carolina, especially the wake of a mass shooting at a Georgia high school on Wednesday.

Some school districts in the Triangle area shared with ABC11 what they're doing to ensure students are safe, including in Wake County.

Wake County Public Schools System (WCPSS) superintendent Dr. Robert Taylor shared some of the safety measures the district has in place.

"We know who enters into our buildings, we have the "See something, Say something" anonymous app where students are able to report things that they may see anonymously," Taylor said. "But if we don't engage in the human behavior aspect, then that's what's going to cause schools to be unsafe."

So far this year there have been 385 mass shootings as of September 4, including the latest one in Georgia at Apalachee High School which is about 45 minutes from Atlanta. Two students and two teachers were killed in that shooting Wednesday morning, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI).

The Gun Violence Archive, which defines a mass shooting as one with four or more people injured or killed, not including the perpetrator, counted 656 Mass Shootings in 2023, 646 in 2022, 689 in 2021 and 610 in 2020.

"We're spending less and less time with people," national school safety expert Dr. Ken Trump said.

Trump said that though some schools have invested in security, such as door locks and metal detectors, it's also important to focus on people, namely support staff.

"We're spending too much time on the bells and whistles and shiny objects of technology and products and less and less time on the connectedness," Trump said. "The training and the people part, that's really going to make a difference."

One of the common threads in school shootings involves questions about people's failures, according to Trump.

"In analyzing the highest profile school shootings, we know that they involve after the fact questions about failures of human factors, people, policies, procedures training, communications," Trump said. "Were there warning signs? Were school officials prepared? Did everyone respond properly?"

In Durham County, Durham Public Schools said two anonymous tip systems are monitored 24/7, in addition to their standard response protocols.

The following statement from Eva Howard, DPS executive director of safety and security is below.

"Durham Public Schools follows protocols, procedures, and policies that support the safety and security of the Durham Public Schools community. We utilize a robust emergency management program and partnership with local and state first responders, law enforcement, and emergency response personnel.

Durham Public Schools remains proactive in ensuring our community is educated, equipped, and prepared to respond efficiently in the event of an emergency.

Our district provides education and training on our standard response protocols, emergency procedures, district policies, and operating procedures that support us in emergency preparedness.

We also provide resources available to our community such as two anonymous tip systems (Sandy Hook Promise Say Something Anonymous Tip and Motorola Text -a-tip) that are monitored 24/7.

The safety and security of Durham Public Schools remains our top priority and we look to our administrators, staff, students, families, and community for their support. The safety and security of the DPS community is the responsibility of us all."

Experts say anonymous reporting is one valuable resource to help prevent more mass shootings.

"The good news is we have many cases where kids come forward and tell adults that they trust and these types of incidents are prevented," Trump said.

"We want to make sure that we recognize those early warning signs, that we get a climate, a culture of safety, where kids come forward and tell adults that they trust because the kids know best about another student that's having a problem."

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