Update: Loaded gun found in Dunbar High School student’s backpack during security check
A Paul Laurence Dunbar High School security ambassador found a loaded firearm Friday in a student’s backpack as he was attempting to enter the building, acting principal Andrea Tinsley said in a letter to families.
All students and staff were safe, she said.
Security ambassadors found the loaded firearm just before 8 a.m. while checking a student’s backpack as they entered the building through metal detectors. Fayette County Public Schools Police took possession of the weapon without incident and placed the student into custody.
School district Police Chief Martin Schafer said the 17-year-old 11th grader at Dunbar was charged with three felonies and one misdemeanor offense and remained in custody just before 3 p.m. Friday.
The student is being charged with unlawful possession of a weapon on school property; receiving stolen property, firearm; and trafficking in a controlled substance in or near a school enhanced by a firearm and possession of a firearm by a minor. The student’s identity will not be disclosed because he is minor, said Schafer.
Schafer said there was no evidence that the student was going to use the gun at Dunbar or any other campus.
Appropriate disciplinary action will be taken, said Tinsley.
“It is never easy for a family to hear that there’s a gun on campus and it’s unfortunate what happened this morning,” Fayette Superintendent Demetrus Liggins said at a Friday news briefing.
That’s exactly why the district is putting a renewed focus on school security and safety protocols, Liggins said.
A panel of citizens and top officials from across Lexington began work Thursday night to recommend new ways to keep Fayette schools safe. The panel has meetings scheduled through March, with opportunities for parents, staff and students to weigh in.
“While news such as this can make us all feel vulnerable, we are thankful that our school safety and security protocols helped prevent this weapon from entering our hallways and classrooms today,” Tinsley said in her letter.
Making threats against a school or bringing a weapon onto school property is a felony under Kentucky state law, she said.
“We are pleased to say that our system worked,” said Liggins. “We’re pleased to say that the protocols that we had in place prevented anything further from happening.”
The latest available data for Fayette County Public Schools from the Kentucky School Report Card for 2021-22 showed that there were 171 assaults or other violent student behavior events, 14 weapons found in schools and 320 events involving drugs. There were 976 student behavior events of harassment, including bullying, the report card.
There were two other gun incidents on Fayette school campuses this school year, school district spokeswoman Lisa Deffendall said. A gun was found in a student’s car at Frederick Douglass High School in September, and in October, a student who evaded metal detectors took a gun into Henry Clay High School. No one was injured in any of the incidents.
