Campuses Must Remain Vigilant During COVID

Campuses Must Remain Vigilant During COVID

It would seem that school and campus shootings would end with students schooling at home. That hasn’t been the case. There were at least 66 incidents of gunfire on school grounds in 2020, resulting in: 14 deaths, including 0 suicide deaths (where no one else was harmed) and. 30 injuries, including 0 self-harm injuries (where no one else was harmed).

January 8. A person who was not a student accidently shot himself in the leg in the parking lot of Glades Central High School in Belle Glades FL.

January 11. A 15-year-old was arrested after two people were wounded by gunfire during a fight at a high school basketball game between South Oak Cliff and Kimball High School. An 18-year-old man was badly wounded in the shooting. And a Dallas ISD police officer was grazed by a bullet fragment. The 15-year-old suspect, who turn himself in at Dallas police headquarters, was initially charged with aggravated assault; however, after the 18-year-old student died from his injuries, the suspect was charged with murder.

January 14. A 19-year-old student was shot in the chest and killed at Bellaire (TX) High School. A-16-year-old student was arrested and charged with manslaughter.
January 14. An adult male and a 10-year-old child were injured at North Crowley (TX) Ninth Grade Campus after a youth basketball game.
January 23. A stray bullet fired during a street altercation struck a nine-year-old student at McAuliffe (CA) Elementary School.

February 3. Jacques Dshawn Smith, 21, gained access to Pride Rock Resident Hall at Texas A&M University – Commerce, where he is suspected of shooting his ex-girlfriend Abbaney Matts, 20, and her sister Deja Matts, 19, to death. Abbaney’s two-year-old son also was injured during the shooting

September 16. At Sonora High School in downtown Sonora, CA, a student named Eric Aguiar, was shot and killed in the high school’s parking lot.

September 16. Kavion Poplous, 18, was arrested and charged with attempted first-degree murder, aggravated battery, and aggravated discharge of a firearm in the shooting of a student at Western Illinois University.

About the Author

Ralph C. Jensen is the Publisher of Security Today magazine.

Featured

  • Emerging Campus Access Control Solutions

    Emerging solutions in campus access control can mean different things. Usually, we expect the topic to focus on the very latest in door security products and solutions that have just been recently released or are about to be launched. After all, staying up on improvements to keep campuses safer is critical. Plus, it’s always interesting and exciting to learn what’s new and how innovations are going to better protect lives and assets and help the industry be even more successful. Read Now

  • Here’s How Instructional Audio Can Play a Key Role in School Safety

    Ensuring the safety of students and employees is critical in today’s educational environment. While the threat of a school shooting is in the back of everyone’s mind, the truth is there are many possible scenarios that could crop up at any time in classrooms, hallways, and other school spaces—from fights or altercations to a sick child or staff member who requires emergency attention. Read Now

  • How School Security Continues to Advance

    For more than 30 years, I’ve been fully immersed in security operations in K-12 schools, including working in school safety in Littleton, Colorado during the attack at Columbine High School in 1999. That incident, coupled with those before and since, underscores the critical need for continued improvement in safety and security measures in our schools. Thankfully, ongoing advancements in security technology enable prompt response to critical threats as well as daily operational efficiency Read Now

  • The Role of Trusted Access Control and Identity Management

    The diverse and dynamic campus environments of modern post-secondary institutions rely on multiple systems and processes to ensure campus security and operational efficiency. Read Now

Webinars