Middle TN school districts discuss safety following Georgia shooting

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) – Last week’s devastating school shooting in Georgia that left four dead and nine others hurt is raising safety concerns for people across the country, including in Middle Tennessee. 

According to Education Week, there have been 26 school shootings reported on K-12 campuses so far in 2024.

The 14-year-old accused gunman of the Apalachee High School shooting in Winder, Georgia is charged with four counts of murder. His father has also been charged after being accused of allowing his son to possess a weapon. He’s the first parent in Georgia to face such charges following a school shooting. The investigation is ongoing.

Mother of Georgia shooting suspect called school to warn of emergency, family says

Following the tragedy, Dr. Grant Swallows, Director of Schools for Warren County Schools, said he wanted to address school safety which he referred to as a “significant issue.”

“It’s natural for concerns about potential threats to our own community,” Swallows said. “We must remain vigilant and work together to maintain the safe and supportive environment we strive to create for our children every day.”

Warren County Schools had the dangers of social media top of mind this past weekend after what it called a ‘concerning post’ thought to be about its high school circulated. The district said after thorough discussions with school administrators, local law enforcement and the Department of Homeland Security, it was confirmed that the post did not pertain to the county.

“I urge everyone to be mindful when sharing information, especially on social media,” Swallows said. “Misinformation and rumors can create unnecessary fear and hinder investigations. If you witness something that seems unsafe, please report it immediately to local law enforcement or school administrators. However, it’s important to report only what you have personally seen or experienced, rather than passing along rumors.”

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Many area school districts use panic alert systems for emergencies. The alarm can be triggered in a variety of ways such as a wearable lanyard, a button on the wall, a desktop icon or a mobile app.

When a student at Cookeville High School claimed to have a gun in class a few weeks ago, Putnam County Schools told News 2 a teacher hit the classroom wall panic button which is linked to an intercom system that notifies faculty, EMS and law enforcement of the crisis.

“It could’ve been really bad,” said Putnam County Sheriff Eddie Farris. “Our school resource officer (SRO) deputies got there in just a matter of a few seconds. I can’t commend not only the deputies but the school administration and the teacher as well. We all worked together, trained together over the years, so everybody’s set and ready.”

In addition to an emergency alert system called Raptor which allows employees to send off a safety alert from their phones, Rutherford County Schools director Dr. Jimmy Sullivan outlined some of the safety procedures in place for the district’s campuses in the event of a school threat.

“We are blessed to have highly trained school resource officers in all of our schools,” Sullivan said. “We have dedicated quite a bit of funding to create security vestibules in our front offices, door access control and many cameras in all of our buildings to help us secure our learning environments. We also use a weapon detection system like the ones you see at stadiums, theme parks and concerts that we rotate around to various schools throughout the year for training purposes. We will likely expand these units as funding permits. Students have the option to report any tips or concerns that they may have using our STOPit app which we have talked about for several years. We’ve invested in security training for all employees and expanded that training to include substitute teachers this year. Additionally, we regularly practice our safety procedures with drills and exercises throughout the school year. We are constantly reviewing these protocols because there are always ways to improve.”

Sullivan advised parents to talk with their children about the importance of not making comments or jokes about school threats. He said the district always thoroughly investigates those types of comments, and there are serious repercussions and discipline involved.

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