STARKVILLE – Schools in the Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District will implement higher security measures today after a handgun and a loaded clip were found this week in separate instances on different campuses.
While the handgun found Tuesday was discovered inside a student’s backpack at Henderson Ward Stewart Elementary, Communications Director Haley Montgomery said the details about how a clip was found Wednesday on the Partnership Middle School campus are still unclear.
“That student obviously was removed from the classroom and removed from the school. That’s our policy. But the student did not have a weapon of any kind,” Montgomery told The Dispatch.
A clip, also called a magazine, holds multiple rounds of ammunition.
“The student only had the loaded magazine, and the student could not tell us where a gun was or anything like that. Also, we did not find any weapon anywhere on campus.”
No one was harmed or threatened in either incident.
HWS is a campus for grades 2-4. Partnership houses grades 6 and 7.
Starting today, Montgomery said each school will increase security measures, requiring students to be screened by a metal detector as they enter the building. That will likely last at least through the end of the school year, she said.
In a video posted to the district Facebook page, Superintendent Tony McGee said support from parents is critical in making sure dangerous items stay off campuses.
“We’re asking for your help,” McGee said. “If your child brings a backpack or a bag to school, please take a moment each day to check in it and make sure that every content of that bag is school appropriate and age appropriate. Your help in this can make a big difference on what comes to school each and every day.”
Montgomery said Wednesday the district had not received any updates regarding potential charges related to either incident.
McRae is a general assignment and education reporter for The Dispatch.
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