Global Courant 2023-05-11 08:55:29
A Michigan second school district has banned students from carrying backpacks on school grounds after a third grade student was found with a loaded gun.
On Wednesday morning, Grand Rapids Public Schools said the gun was discovered at Stocking Elementary School, marking the fourth incident this year in which a student was found with a gun. Three of the firearms were found in backpacks.
The decision to ban backpacks came after Flint Community Schools Superintendent Kevelin Jones announced last month that the district would also ban backpacks starting May 1.
At a news conference Wednesday, Grand Rapids Public Schools superintendent Leadriane Roby said the ban was a “drastic step” that was needed.
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At least two Michigan school districts have banned students from using backpacks over concerns about gun violence. Texas school districts are requiring students to use clear backpacks after the shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
Larry Johnson, executive director of public safety and school security, added: “We’ve prevented at least two tragedies in the last two weeks. We don’t want to be in front of you again.”
Grand Rapids has not yet announced how students can bring their books and belongings.
In Flint, students are allowed to carry their belongings in small purses or clear plastic bags. All bags are searched.
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Flint Community Schools previously said it had banned backpacks due to a nationwide “rise in threatening behavior and contraband, including guns, being brought into schools at all levels.”
Jones said in the April 27 letter that the district had “reached a point where we had some tough decisions to make.”
“At Flint Community Schools, we are committed to providing a safe environment for our students, families, teachers and staff,” said Jones.
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed a law last month requiring gun owners to keep firearms unloaded and in a locked storage case. (Sarah Rice/Getty Images)
He added: “As a district, we are taking a 360-degree approach to creating safe spaces for children’s academic journeys. To that end, we have reached a point where we have to make tough decisions and ask our school community for flexibility, understanding and a shared sense of urgency when it comes to safety.”
The chief inspector said backpacks specifically made it easier to conceal a weapon from would-be bad actors.
“Across the country, we have seen an increase in threatening behavior and contraband, including weapons, being brought into schools at all levels,” Jones said.
“Backpacks make it easier for students to conceal weapons, which can be disassembled and more difficult to identify or hide in pockets, in books or among other items,” he continued.
And: “Clear backpacks don’t completely solve this problem. By banning backpacks altogether and adding an increased security presence throughout the district, we can better control what enters our buildings.”
In 2021, a shooting at Oxford High School killed four students and injured seven others. The shooter was a 15-year-old college student.
People gather at the Memorial to the Dead and Injured outside Oxford High School in Oxford, Michigan on December 3, 2021. (JEFF KOWALSKY/AFP via Getty Images)
Investigators believe that Ethan Crumbley, who pleaded guilty to carrying out the shooting, had put his gun in his backpack on the day of the shooting. The firearm had been bought for him by his father and had not been secured properly at home, officials said.
Separately, school districts across Texas began requiring students to use clear backpacks following a shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas that killed 19 students and two teachers.
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Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed legislation last month requiring gun owners to keep firearms unloaded and stored in a locked storage box or container when “a minor is reasonably known to be present or likely to be present on the premises.”
It will take effect next year.
Bradford Betz of Fox News and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
