Tag: School Shooting

Teachers Could Carry Guns In W.Va. Classrooms Under Bill

A bill under discussion in the West Virginia House of Delegates would allow teachers to carry guns on school property if they complete a state-mandated training.

Teachers could soon be authorized to carry firearms in West Virginia classrooms, provided that they complete state-mandated training.

The House Judiciary Committee reviewed House Bill 4299 on Wednesday. The bill would create a position in schools known as a school protection officer.

The position would be a secondary role available to any school administrator, support personnel or elementary or secondary school teacher. These individuals would have to complete security and firearm safety training and could then receive authorization to bring a gun to school.

The bill received majority support from committee members, but only after more than an hour of impassioned debate.

Proponents of the bill said it would provide immediate support to school staff when students face the risk of an active shooter.

Under the bill, “we won’t have teachers, as in one instance, laying her body over top of her students,” said Del. Laura Kimble, R-Harrison, who sponsored the bill.

“Instead, she will have something to defend herself,” she said. “That’s why I’m a sponsor of this bill.”

Kimble also said it reaffirmed the state’s concealed carry law, which allows residents over age 21 to carry a firearm in public without a license.

Currently, West Virginia residents including teachers are prohibited from bringing guns onto school property, regardless of whether they have a permit for it.

Under the bill, teachers would be required to keep their firearm within their “personal control while that firearm or device is on school property.”

Critics of the bill, however, expressed doubts that increasing the number of guns in West Virginia schools would reduce gun-related injuries or deaths.

Del. Evan Hansen, D-Monongalia, noted that the bill would create a new armed position in addition to other armed roles like prevention resource officers and school resource officers.

He added that another pending bill, House Bill 4851, would allow school security officers to carry firearms on school property.

“So, there’ll be four different types of people with guns in the schools?” he asked.

Del. Shawn Fluharty, D-Ohio, expressed concern over a potential limit on training for school protection officers in the bill. The text of the bill states that school protection officers must complete “initial instruction and training that shall not exceed 24 hours.”

Also during the meeting, Del. Geoff Foster, R-Putnam, proposed an amendment to the bill that would have required school districts to designate an eligible school employee to serve as a school protection officer.

Counsel and committee members expressed concern that this would contradict the voluntary nature of the position, as established under the bill. Ultimately, Foster withdrew his amendment.

After extensive debate, a majority of committee members voted in favor of the bill, sending it to the House floor with the recommendation that it pass.

School Safety Tops Agenda For State School Board

With the fall 2022 school year just around the corner, school safety and preparedness were top of mind at the July West Virginia Board of Education meeting last week.

This summer began with a dark cloud hanging over the country, as the United States reeled from yet another devastating school shooting. This time, at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas where 19 children and two teachers were killed.

For many state education departments throughout the country, the incident renewed conversations about school preparedness in the face of a crisis.

That has certainly been true in West Virginia.

With the fall 2022 school year just around the corner, school safety and preparedness were top of mind at the July West Virginia Board of Education meeting last week.

Emergency Preparedness

Board members received an update from the state department of education’s Jonah Adkins, who spoke on behalf of Rob Cunningham, Deputy Secretary for the West Virginia Department of Homeland Security.

“Mr. Cunningham made this statement when we presented to the legislature a couple of weeks ago: that school safety is everyone’s responsibility,” Adkins said.

The West Virginia Department of Education and the West Virginia Department of Homeland Security have had regular meetings throughout the summer since the horrific school shooting in Uvalde in May.

The agencies are exploring ways to better collaborate and ensure everyone is prepared in the event of an active shooter or other emergency at schools.

Adkins reiterated to the board the importance of “one caring adult,” which is an initiative set by the West Virginia Superintendent of Schools Clayton Burch. It builds off the idea that as long as a child knows that at least one adult at school cares for them, they will do well in school, both emotionally and academically.

“We have to ensure that children have the services and the support that they need to deal with any emotional, social and emotional issues they may have, or any mental health issues that they may be facing,” Adkins said. “We have to make sure that those students have those appropriate supports. It takes people speaking up. It goes back to that saying, ‘if you see something, say something.’ Everyone has a part, everyone has a role in ensuring that our students are safe.”

Adkins told the board that Cunningham wants to implement a new app where students can report concerning behavior at school via text message. Adkins said the one they are considering would interface with existing apps that many West Virginia schools use to report bullying.

He also said the Office of Student Support and Well-Being in September will provide threat assessment training for school administrators, counselors, social workers and psychologists.

“We look forward to ongoing collaboration between [the department of education], department of homeland security, School Building Authority, the Fusion Center, and the West Virginia State Police,” Adkins told told board members. “I really believe that we’re working more collaboratively. We’re seeing positive results come of these meetings.”

State police also explained that some of the training offerings will not only be made available to school personnel and emergency responders, but also to members of the community, according to the WVDE.

“We have to address school safety from many angles,” said State Superintendent of Schools Clayton Burch in a news release. “From creating safe and supportive school environments and being able to quickly recognize problem areas, to the role of our emergency response partners to protect public safety, we all have a part to play. Partners have plans in place that will also assist communities in understanding their roles in protecting schools. I believe by keeping this issue in front of us, we will be able to better protect our students.”

Paul Hardesty Named New Board Of Ed President

Also at the July meeting, former state senator and longtime public servant Paul Hardesty was elected unanimously as the new president of the West Virginia Board of Education.

Hardesty replaces former President Miller Hall who served as president since 2017.

Hardesty was first appointed to the state board as a member in Dec. 2021. Previously, he served on the Logan County Board of Education and was appointed by Gov. Jim Justice to an unexpired term in the West Virginia Senate.

Hardesty also held the positions of director of the Office Coalfield Development and legislative liaison for Gov. Bob Wise. He served as the director of the Public Energy Authority and was a member of the legislative staff for Gov. Joe Manchin.

Hardesty is a resident of Logan County.

“I am humbled and grateful for the opportunity to continue to serve the great state of West Virginia and the children of our public school system,” said Hardesty in a news release. “We have many important issues in front of us, and we will work tirelessly to ensure our children are prepared for the opportunities available to them. I will start, day-one, to try and build back damaged relationships around the Capitol Complex, because, at the end of the day, we all want better educational opportunities.”

President Hardesty’s complete bio is on the WVDE’s website.

Should Universities Do More to Prepare Students, Staff for an Active Shooter Emergency?

What would you do if an active shooter entered your building?

 
University police departments across the country and West Virginia are encouraging their students and staff to answer that question by providing them training in the form of videos, which are provided by entities like the Department of Homeland Security and private companies. Marshall University, for example, rolled out an online video module this fall that students and employees can access to learn about how to survive an active shooter situation, and West Virginia University opened their video training, which is taught in a class setting and followed by a question and answer session, to the public. 

 
“It’s video clips tied in with some PowerPoint slides – that’s how we deliver a lot of our emergency management training,” said Tracy Smith, the director of Environmental Health and Safety at Marshall University. “That way we can reach large numbers of people pretty easily.” 

 
But one terrorism expert with the Ohio Department of Homeland Security thinks the nation is not doing enough to prepare civilians for an active shooter emergency. 

 
“You’re not engraining someone in having them watch a video. I pull people out of the audience,” said Lieutenant Joseph Hendry. “We barricade the doors in a classroom. I show them how to use countermeasures. I show them swarming techniques. I show them how to move. We are so behind the terrorists and active shooters in training and thought process. That’s why we keep losing so many people.”

 
Hendry says that the only way to be prepared is to drill repeatedly. But requiring drills is a matter of bureaucracy, and police departments throughout the country often copy each other’s policies for the sake of expediency. Fire drills and fire codes, after all, took 64 years to implement. By now, some active shooter training methods are outdated. The lockdown method, in which individuals hide under desks and turn off the light, was designed for a drive-by shooting at an outdoor campus in 1993. In shootings that occur indoors, Hendry says lockdown training is the reason why mass-shooting victims are often killed by execution-style shots – they are sitting ducks for the gunman. 

 
“There are states that require lockdown drills five times a year. So by the time someone comes to a university setting, they may have practiced sitting in the dark on the ground not moving 65 times,” he said. “That is an ingrained thought process in them. they will do that automatically – and at a stress level, you will default to the level of your training.” 

 
Police departments at Marshall, Shepherd and West Virginia universities use videos for training because they say physical training with their students and staff could be traumatic and impractical. Captain Danny Camden of West Virginia University Police says the videos are a good way to prompt audiences to seriously think about what they would do if confronted with an active shooter, and brings them one step closer to surviving an active shooter emergency. 

 
“If you’ve never watched a video, if you’ve never done anything and and never stopped to think about what if this happens, or that happens, you’re at a huge disadvantage. You could very easily find yourself just like the deer that jumps into the road and here comes a car at night head on. Should you jump left? Should the deer jump right?” he said. “Well, it doesn’t really matter if you jump left or jump right. Just don’t stand there too long.” 

Police: Suspect in Custody After Report of Gun at School

West Virginia State Police say a suspect has been arrested after a report of someone with a gun inside a high school.

State Police spokesman Lt. Michael Baylous says the suspect was taken into custody Tuesday afternoon at Philip Barbour High School.

Baylous says the incident began as a “hostage-type situation” at the school.

Baylous says the suspect was believed to have a gun and was isolated inside the school. After the incident was reported, the school was evacuated, and students were eventually removed from the school grounds by bus.

Baylous says he didn’t immediately have more details on the suspect or the incident.

No injuries were reported.

Philippi is a town of about 3,000 residents in north central West Virginia.

UPDATE 4:53 P.M.: 

Steve Saltis was among several parents outside an area cordoned off by police tape at West Virginia’s Philip Barbour High School waiting for students to be released.

Saltis told The Associated Press by telephone that his daughter attends the school. Passing minutes seemed like hours before authorities let the students head home. Saltis said “a lot” was going through his mind in the meantime.

Saltis said many students had been sitting in the school’s football stadium after the school was evacuated, and he was able to talk to his daughter. But Saltis says law enforcement officials told him nothing while the suspect was still in the school.

Asked why students weren’t immediately released to their parents, Saltis said he could only speculate: “She’s in their protection. That’s the way it works.”

UPDATE 5:20 p.m.:

West Virginia State Police say a 14-year-old boy held several students and a teacher hostage in a high school classroom before he let them go and eventually was taken into custody. No injuries were reported.

State Police Lt. Michael Baylous says in a news release that the boy had a pistol in a second-floor classroom Tuesday at Philip Barbour High School.

Baylous says after local authorities received a call about the matter at 1:30 p.m., the school was placed on lockdown, and students elsewhere in the school were moved to the school’s football field, accounted for and sent home by school bus.

Baylous says that after initial negotiations, the suspect agreed to release the students and teacher and then eventually put the gun down and surrendered without further incident.

Baylous says the suspect has been taken to a hospital for evaluation. 

UPDATE 6 p.m.:

A prosecutor says she plans to pursue charges against a 14-year-old boy taken into custody in what authorities say was a hostage-taking episode at a West Virginia high school.

West Virginia State Police say the teenager had a gun and held several students and a teacher in a high school classroom before he let them go and eventually was taken into custody. No injuries were reported and officials say the school was evacuated.

Barbour County Prosecutor Leckta Poling wouldn’t specify what charges would be brought against the male student. She said no charges had been filed as of Tuesday night. Poling said that because the case involves a juvenile, the court process would be closed. Police haven’t identified the student.

State Police Capt. Dave Reider says there will be an increased law enforcement presence at Philip Barbour High School on Wednesday. He said the school will be open but the start of classes will be delayed by two hours.

7:25 p.m.

An education official says a teacher did a “miraculous job” maintaining order in a West Virginia classroom where a 14-year-old male student is accused of holding students and the teacher at gunpoint before surrendering.

Barbour County Schools Superintendent Jeffrey Woofter says 29 students were in the second-floor classroom at Philip Barbour High School with the suspect when classes were about to change Tuesday.

Woofter says the teacher talked the boy into keeping the next group of students from entering the class. He didn’t name the teacher.

Other students who opened the door to enter the classroom were told to leave. Woofter says the students who were denied entry went across the hall to alert another teacher, who then alerted school officials before authorities were called.

Woofter says Philippi Police Chief Jeff Walters negotiated the students’ release and later got the suspect to surrender.

Authorities say the school was evacuated during the episode and that no injuries were reported.

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