BLYTHEWOOD, SC (WIS) – A 14-year-old student was arrested and charged with bringing a weapon onto school grounds and expelled from Westwood High School.
Investigators said a Richland County Sheriff’s Department school security officer discovered the gun in the student’s backpack after he set off the metal detectors.
The news sparked concern among parents throughout Richland County’s Second School District.
“It’s too early and we need to start dealing with it already,” said Patrick Lisbon, parent of Richland Two.
The new school year has only begun a week, and Richland Two’s school administration is already facing a widespread problem: guns in school.
“I don’t know what the solution is, but as a father of a middle school student, this is one of the worries we have to deal with on a daily basis, hoping that our children return home safely,” Lisbon said.
WIS News 10 spoke to the district superintendent after the incident.
The message Richland Two Superintendent Kim Moore shared with parents: “The metal detectors work.”
“We know that learning cannot occur in an unsafe environment, and that is the whole purpose of our security checkpoints where this weapon was found,” Moore said.
She understood parents’ concerns, but also emphasized that the district’s safety plan does exactly what it is supposed to do and that the district has provided the data to support that statement.
August 8 marked the first full year that these screening stations were implemented at all high schools. Before that, the district had deployed rotating metal detectors at all schools, regardless of grade level, during the 2022-2023 school year.
Data from Richland Two shows that 46 weapons were confiscated this school year, six of which were firearms. Last school year, when the district installed fixed metal detectors at all high schools and rotated them at elementary and middle schools, 25 weapons were confiscated, and only one of those was a firearm.
For classification: Weapons include not only firearms, but also knives and sharp-edged objects.
“It may sound harsh, but if you let one kid get away with it, the other kids will think they can do it, too,” said James Smith, another parent of a Richland Two student.
“We want to make sure we create an environment where not only our students but also our faculty and staff feel safe. That’s why we have implemented our safety protocols as well as the additional measures we have taken,” Moore said.
These additional measures include having a liaison officer in all schools, safety badges for teachers and reminding students to speak up if they see something.
Moore said pop-up screening stations are currently in use at elementary and middle schools, but district leaders are continuing to evaluate whether they should be made permanent.
The student charged on Tuesday could not be identified due to his age. He must appear in family court this week.
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