Authorities in Rock Hill, South Carolina, recently recovered guns at three schools on three consecutive days, including a middle school where a 14-year-old boy allegedly pulled a handgun on a fellow student. The 14-year-old student was involved in a fist fight in a school bathroom when a gun fell out of his pants, according to police. According to police, the adolescent picked up the gun and pointed it at a student, causing his classmates to flee.
Back-to-back gun incidents were a new and startling occurrence for the district of approximately 16,700 students near the North Carolina state line.
"It was a seismic occurrence." "That is unprecedented," said Kevin Brackett, a long-serving elected prosecutor in the region.
According to the nonprofit Gun Violence Archive, which tracks news accounts and police reports, far more guns were found in U.S. schools during the first two months of this school year than in previous years. In August and September, the archive recorded more than 220 gun seizures across 35 states, up from 128 in the same period last year and 132 in 2019. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, many schools were closed in the fall of 2020.
This calendar year has also seen an increase in reports of gun violence in schools (where guns are brandished or fired, or a bullet strikes school property, including at night and on weekends). The nonprofit K-12 School Shooting Database had 224 incidents as of Tuesday, compared to 182 at the same point in 2021. According to the database, nearly half of this year's incidents, 103, involved at least one shooting victim.
Fake incidents have increased in tandem with real ones. According to the National Association of School Resource Officers, schools across the country are dealing with an increase in swatting, or hoax 911 calls about bogus active shooters. The nonprofit group said it has been tracking reports of swatting incidents in at least 17 states and the District of Columbia since September 9.
Educators and law enforcement officials say the increase in gun incidents on campuses mirrors the worsening violence in the United States since the pandemic began in 2020, as well as an increase in behavioral problems among remote learning students who struggled with social isolation.
They claim that more guns are being discovered as a result of random searches and students' willingness to alert adults about firearms following the May mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, which killed 19 elementary school students and two teachers.
"Parents, students, and educators are on edge after Uvalde," said Kenneth Trump, president of the Cleveland-based consulting firm National School Safety and Security Services. He claims he has never been busier with requests for training events and safety assessments, and that the prevalence of guns on campus has never been higher.
So far this school year, school shootings have claimed the lives of students, some of whom were targeted, while others were killed as bystanders. Police in Tulsa, Oklahoma, said a 17-year-old boy was fatally shot at a high school homecoming football game on Friday. According to police, a 14-year-old died after he and several other teens were ambushed outside a high school following a football scrimmage on September 27 by a group of shooters.
In response to gun violence, some school districts are hardening their buildings. Wichita, Kan., officials recently ordered 58 portable metal detectors for key entrances at the district's ten public high schools for $927,000 each. The deal was approved by the school board after five guns were discovered in high schools during the first few weeks of the school year.
It was a significant increase from last year, when 11 guns were discovered throughout the school year, according to the district.
According to Terri Moses, the school district's safety services director, the units purchased by Wichita Public Schools will not require students to remove keys, cellphones, and other items that set off traditional metal detectors. She believes this will help avoid morning traffic congestion when students arrive.
According to Ms. Moses, the detectors are part of a broader response to violence concerns, which includes teaching students conflict-resolution skills. Students alerted adults in four of the five recent gun incidents, she said, indicating that the district's "see something, say something" campaign is working.
"While it's unfortunate that we have those weapons in the school, it's encouraging that someone reported it," she said.
According to Sgt. Clyde Boatwright of the Baltimore City School Police Force, 15 guns were recovered from city schools last school year—more than he can recall in a single year in his nearly two decades with the agency. The department has recovered two guns this school year, he said, one of which was used in the fatal shooting of a high school student outside a school. He claims that metal detectors are installed in the majority of the city's high schools.
"The problem is being driven by two factors. The first is the easy availability of firearms for our youth. "The second issue is the lack of consequences for wearing, carrying, or transporting a firearm," said Sgt. Boatwright.
The three gun incidents in Rock Hill, where all schools have armed security, whether from law enforcement or private contractors, resulted in five boys being charged with illegal gun possession, according to authorities. The mother of one of the boys was charged with obstructing justice.
Superintendent Tommy Schmolze stated that the school district has adhered to the safety procedures that were in place when the school year began. They include increased random searches as well as an anonymous tip line. He said the district uses metal detectors at some events and hasn't ruled out expanding their use.
The first of the three incidents occurred on August 29 at South Pointe High. Daniel Shealy, a school resource officer in his sixth year at the school, said he noticed a student acting suspiciously in the cafeteria. When he reviewed video footage, his gut feeling grew stronger, he said, so he notified school officials.
Officer Shealy later found a loaded 9mm handgun in the 16-year-old boy's backpack. He claimed the boy later told him he brought the gun to school because he expected a fight with another student at a bus stop after class. "That gun did feel like it was going to be used that day," the officer said.
The district recently held a forum in which law enforcement officials and school representatives answered a variety of safety-related questions from concerned parents. Some officials emphasized the importance of parents keeping firearms secure in their homes.
"I know a lot of parents are still concerned," said Kiwant to Brackett, the mother of an 11th-grader.
Dr. Brackett, who is not related to the prosecutor, believes parents would benefit from a better understanding of the warning signs that their child may bring a firearm to school. "Most kids don't just pick up a gun one day," she explained.
Boyd Brackett, a junior at South Pointe, heard before football practice that day that police had discovered a gun in a student's backpack. "I was just stunned," he explained.
However, he expressed relief that the gun was discovered before anyone was hurt, and he stated that random searches make him feel safer. Metal detectors, he claims, are unnecessary, adding, "I don't want to feel like I'm walking into a jail."