Madison County, North Carolina, will start the school year on August 22 with AR-15 rifles, the sheriff claims.
Sheriff Buddy Harwood told The Asheville Citizen-Times that the additional precaution for this school year comes after the Uvalde school tragedy that killed 19 pupils and two instructors.
“Those cops were there so long, and the guy was able to penetrate and murder so many kids,” Harwood said. I want to make sure my deputies are ready.
The sheriff stated all six institutions, including three primary schools, will have AR-15s. School resource officers at Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College will handle the firearms, Harwood said.
This year’s safety and security strategy adds social workers and counselors to each school.
Each school will also have a safe, said Harwood. In the safes will be breaching equipment and extra ammunition magazines. Harwood’s team has visited with first responders and security personnel.
“We’ll have the tools to break through if necessary. I don’t want to waste time running to the vehicle for an AR “”Harwood” “We won’t need it, but I want my people to be ready.”
Schools will also have a monitoring-connected panic button system.
Will Hoffman, the county’s superintendent, said school officials had met with police to discuss the additional measures.
He’s also talked with the school counsel and been promised law enforcement may monitor school cameras.
Harwood dislikes that AR-15s must be housed in his classrooms, but he feels it’s important to protect students.
“We can claim it won’t happen in Madison County, but who knows? I want Madison County parents to know we’ll do everything possible to keep their children secure “saying If my parents want me to stand at the entrance with an AR around the officer’s neck, I’ll do it to keep our kids safe.
The school system and Sheriff’s Office will perform a real scenario training with all district instructors the week before school starts, the Citizen-Times reported.
Arming schools is contentious. Many have maintained for years that having guns in classrooms may lead to gun incidents.
Giffords Law Center documented almost 100 incidences of mishandled weapons in schools in the previous five years, including at least one kid seizing an officer’s pistol while the officer was subduing them.
A study by Texas legislators found “systemic errors and flagrant bad decision making” by responding law enforcement in the May 24 mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde.
Most of the 376 responding cops were state and federal. Despite this, the investigation found no clear leadership or communication.
Bodycam video showed numerous armed cops in the building and near the classroom while the shooter was locked inside for more than an hour.
Some victims may still be alive if they hadn’t waited 73 minutes for assistance, according to the report’s authors. Children called 911 until cops arrived.