Charles E Jordon High School under lockdown after boy, 14, found with loaded firearms on premises
DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA: The Durham County Sheriff's Office reported on Friday, February 24, that Charles E Jordan High School had a student in possession of a firearm. After the Sheriff's Office School Resource Officer received a lead that a student had a gun on the premises, the school was placed on lockdown just before 3.45 pm.
A short while later, according to deputies, they discovered a 14-year-old boy with a gun and took possession of it. Concerning the case, Sheriff Clarence Birkhead said, "Last week and into this week, we listened to students from across Durham Public Schools as they spoke about their concerns surrounding gun violence."
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He continued, "While I'm glad the lesson 'See Something, Say Something' is getting across to our students, it's disheartening that young people believe they need to solve their problems with a gun. Thankfully, in this instance, no one was injured or killed." The gun discovered in Durham is the 11th to be found on a campus of a school this month alone, along with an airsoft gun located at West Middlebrook Middle School, as reported by ABC.
'Please, please let them not be hurt'
Roland Tita, a parent at Charles E Jordan High School, expressed concern for his two children's safety as the news about this case emerged. He said, "Please, please let them not be hurt." Tita continued by saying, "Do we put cameras in every room?" Tita asked, adding, "cameras all over the place to make sure we put eyes on everything?" The parent further added, "I think that might be the best thing right now." "For people to be vigilant and see what's going on," said Tita, as reported by WRAL.
According to Dr Jaclyn Schildkraut of the Regional Gun Violence Consortium, being constantly vigilant for potential threats and speaking up could save lives. He said, "presence of a weapon on campus is unsettling. It's not what schools are for," Schildkraut said. "People are coming forward more and want to make sure their kids are coming home at the end of the day," as per reports.
Another similar incident at Millbrook High School in Raleigh
This latest threat involves guns, and it comes just two weeks after two Durham students from the Hillside High School, which is just five miles away from the Charles E Jordan High School, were shot and killed, as reported by CBS 17. A similar incident occurred on Thursday night at Millbrook High School in Raleigh when a young person brought an AR-15 into a basketball playoff game, as reported by MEAWW. On Saturday, Jordan is scheduled to perform there, so additional security has been established.