After a student stabbed a teacher with an 8-inch butcher knife in front classmates, many folks are asking how that knife got into the middle school in the first place.
The incident happened at Trickum Middle School Monday afternoon. According to Gwinnett County Schools, students were changing classes at the Lilburn, Georgia school. That’s when the student reportedly called the teacher over and stabbed him in the chest. 11Alive's Hope Ford reports the 13-year-old male suspect then took another student hostage. A school resource officer intervened and took the suspect into custody.
11Alive tried to follow up with the district multiple times during Tuesday to ask that question: How was the student able to get the knife on campus. There All the district would say is it is still an active case. However, officials did confirm Monday the student reportedly brought the knife to school in a backpack, and there are no metal detectors at the school. Students are also not searched as they enter.
Photos: Trickum Middle School student arrested after stabbing teacher
All of this made us wonder what other school districts in metro Atlanta are doing to protect students and teachers. 11Alive’s Nick Sturdivant reached out to eight metro school districts to find out how they deal with security and safety.
Here’s what he found:
Bartow County
In a statement, the district said that, "overall, we are satisfied with our new systems, as they add an additional layer of security for our front office staff and students.”
Currently, the district does not have metal detectors, however schools have an intercom system at entrances.
Cherokee County
The school district said it uses the “see-something, say-something" tactic, and use police officers, security foyers, buzzer-entry systems and security cameras.
DeKalb County
The district said they are thinking about using metal detectors and the hero 911 system. They are also hiring more school resource officers, too.
Douglas County
The district’s statement said they would be rolling out security access systems at each high school. Each external exit and access door at each high school will have required wiring and the installation of equipment.
“In multiple cases, the doors had to be replaced entirely due to age and incompatibility with the new technology," the district said.
However, the district added that at this time, they “have not deemed it necessary to equip our middle or high schools with metal detectors” based on overall incident rates and the types of incidents they've had so far.
“We will not put students in a learning environment where the first thing we do each morning is search them and send the message of danger and confinement," the district’s statement said.
Forsyth County
According to the district, Forsyth County Schools said they also do not have metal detectors in schools, but the district does actively promote "see-something, say-something" and have an anonymous tip line.
“Our student advocacy specialists are quite busy this fall,” the district said. “All our staff in partnership work to support and improve school safety."
In the meantime, 11Alive is continuing to work to get answers from Gwinnett County Public Schools. If the district responds, we will add the statement to this story.
