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The Virginia school where a 6-year-old boy shot his teacher announces it will install metal detectors

2023-01-13T04:08:24.605Z


Critics of this system, which has already been adopted in some US schools, say it is too expensive and gives a false sense of security. How effective can they really be in preventing gun violence in schools?


By Ben Finley and Denise Lavoie -

The Associated Press

The case of the 6-year-old boy who shot his teacher at a Virginia elementary school has plunged the United States into unfamiliar terrain in terms of school violence, with many residents of the city where the shocking shooting took place have demanded that they settle metal detectors in schools.

The Newport News School Board

announced Thursday that it will install 90 metal detectors in schools across the district,

starting with Richneck Elementary, where 25-year-old teacher Abigail Zwerner was shot Friday.

[6-year-old boy who shot teacher at Virginia school carried his mother's gun in his backpack]

“The time has come to install metal detectors in all of our schools,” council president Lisa Surles-Law told a news conference.

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The measure came at a time when educators and experts grapple with the complex task of figuring out how to prevent gun violence even in schools for the youngest.

“This measure is a real game changer,” said Mo Canady, executive director of the National Association of School Resource Officers, which educates law enforcement officers who work in schools.

The other side of metal detectors

American educators have long tried to create safe spaces that are less like prisons and more like schools.

Friday's shooting fueled debate about the effectiveness of metal detectors — which remain relatively rare in schools — and other security measures.

“Metal detectors and clear backpacks are likely to make young children feel fearful and criminalized,” explained Amanda Nickerson, a professor of school psychology at the State University of New York at Buffalo.

“Many of the suggested strategies lack research support and, in fact, can erode a healthy school climate,” he noted. 

[Who will be charged in the case of the 6-year-old boy who shot his teacher?

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A climate where she says students and staff can share concerns about potential threats, which has been shown to prevent shootings.

Ron Avi Astor, a professor of social welfare and education at the University of California, Los Angeles, said that

"gun owners are really the ones who should be held accountable."

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Newport News police reported that the 6-year-old boy brought his mother's gun, which had been purchased legally, to school, though it's unclear how he got access to it.

A Virginia law prohibits leaving a loaded gun within the reach of anyone under the age of 14,

a misdemeanor punishable by a maximum penalty of one year in prison and a $2,500 fine

.

So far no charges have been filed against the mother.

“Gun safety education is something most Americans agree on, according to national polls.

It is a starting point to save lives and reduce the number of injuries and deaths”, declared Astor.

What happened to the kid who pulled the trigger?

Friday's shooting occurred while Zwerner was teaching class at Richneck Elementary School.

There was no warning or scuffle before the boy pointed the gun at him and fired once.

The bullet passed through Zwerner's hand and hit his chest.

The injured teacher managed to get her students out of the classroom before she was taken to hospital.

According to authorities, she has improved and is stable.

[Shooting at Miami Gardens restaurant leaves at least 10 injured]

Police Chief Steve Drew described the shooting as "intentional."

A judge will determine the future of the minor

, who is admitted to a medical center under an emergency custody order.

Eric Billet, whose three children attend Newport News Public Schools, supports security measures like metal detectors, bag searches and a patrol officer at every school.

He though he says he would also like more behavior specialists and counselors to work with the students.

Rick Fogle, whose grandson is in second grade at Richneck, supports the use of detectors but insists that schools also search backpacks, pockets and desks if children are suspected of having a weapon.

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David Riedman, a researcher and founder of a database that tracks school shootings in the United States since 1970, said he is aware of three other attacks involving 6-year-olds and only knows of one other case of a student even minor.  

Shootings or guns are removed from schools almost every day

, according to Riedman.

In 2022 there were 302 attacks and since 1970, more than 250 teachers, principals and other school personnel have been victims in armed incidents.

false sense of security

Riedman questions how realistic it is for schools to increase the use of metal detectors.

"They are already going through work to have resources such as finding bus drivers and teachers,"

he said.

“To have complete school security with 100% weapons detection you need a TSA-style agency (Transportation Security Administration), which would cost hundreds of billions of dollars to implement across the country and that It's not viable."

Richneck Elementary School after the shooting, Newport News, Virginia. Jay Paul / Getty Images

The use of metal detectors in schools, particularly elementary schools, remains rare, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

During the 2019-2020 school year, less than 2% of public elementary schools conducted random checks on students with metal detectors.

That number was 10% for middle schools and 14.8% for high schools.

About 2% of elementary schools required that backpacks be searched, just over 9% of middle schools and 7% of high schools imposed that requirement, the center reported.

Around 54.6% of elementary schools had security personnel at least once a week, in middle schools it was 81.5% and in high schools 84.4%.

According to Canady,

equipping schools with detectors requires training and maintenance

, and can give a false sense of security if not used correctly.

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A relationship-based approach to policing can better prevent school violence, he said.

“Every student in a school should have at least one trusted adult that they can relate to,” Canady said.

Krista Arnold, executive director of the Virginia Elementary School Principals Association, agrees.

She worked as an elementary principal for 18 years in Virginia Beach before retiring in 2021.

“During my 18 years at school they brought in a couple of knives, and (students) usually sing like canaries and tell somebody,” Arnold said.

"And that usually got to the address pretty quickly."

[An intruder enters the Uvalde school in a security drill while questions arise about medical attention in the shooting]

Arnold stated that she is not in favor of turning schools into fortresses.

In her place, she supports teaching empathy and other behavioral skills.

“My experience is that when you build that community and explicitly teach social and emotional skills, and talk about how the other person feels if they've been wronged, it builds that good citizenship and reduces the amount of discipline and aggression in school," he said.

Source: telemundo

All news articles on 2023-01-13

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