GA - Winder - Apalachee High School school shooting, 4 dead, 9 injured *father and son arrested*

[gremlin444]

We have metal detectors in our schools. The line moves quickly. Every student is provided a clear bookbag, no others allowed, size limits. Most all assignments are completed on laptops using Canvas software.
Our schools contract with local LE for a 2 hour shift each am. We do have several retired officers that returned to work just to staff the metal detectors. (It's a good part time gig)
Any student with questionable items are removed from the line, taken to another area for search. If weapons are found LE notified, if not approved items, school retains, parents are notified of school violation, can result in suspension, arrest.
We also use metal detectors at all sporting events, graduation, and other large events.
Moo...

I'm curious--as a data point, how many students are at your largest school in your area?

 

[IceIce9]

The school district where I live has 16,000 students, a total of 15 school buildings, and has used metal detectors since the 2021 school year.

Each school building has at least one school resource officer.

Cameras, Metal Detectors & Training: How Indiana schools are working to keep students safe

As students and staff members head back to the classroom this school year, district leaders tell WRTV their top priority is school safety.

www.wrtv.com

Every summer, all Carmel Police officers takes part in active threat training while school staff members participate as role players.

"By participating in active shooter training, we identified a need to actually create better interior signage for our schools," David Woodward, Director of Student Services, Carmel Clay Schools said. "A responding officer can actually show up, and we say we have an issue in room 201. They're not looking around to figure out where room 201 is."

 

[kaen]

I'm curious--as a data point, how many students are at your largest school in your area?

I worked in a 4k student high school with metal detectors with one access point, comprising 8 lines. Start times for different grade clusters were staggered. Students used public transportation to arrive so the flow was also influenced by bus and subway arrivals. Grace for students late to 1st period in terms of lateness and detentions. No clear backpacks. No textbooks needed but computer access required for all materials and assignments. We had bathroom monitors who enforced no backpacks and swept the bathroom after each student was in the space before another student was let in. It was not too long a line but was a bit of a drag on snowy/rainy days. It is doable.
Now I work in a specialized environment with far fewer kids all of whom have behavioral issues. We have no detectors but searches happen and monitoring of student behaviors is more eyes on and hands on. Every student is seen and bathrooms have monitors --no backpacks in bathrooms or the gym.

I think it is important to remember that staff like counseling are often at a 1:250 or 1:500. This makes it extraordinarily difficult to know students and assess for crisis. It is possible for counselors in a school with these types of ratios to never have laid eyes on a student unless the student was seeking them out or there was an issue. Even from a college access perspective, many kids are more on their own to apply and get materials ready. In addition to secure buildings, schools need to invest in counselors who can get to know and work with students. JMHO.

 

[Izzylizzy]

Georgia shooting suspect's grandmother visited school one day before massacre to discuss his behavioral issues, family says

The suspect's grandfather also told CBS News that the boy texted his mother on the morning of the shooting, "I'm sorry."

www.cbsnews.com

The maternal grandmother of the 14-year-old suspect in the deadly Apalachee High School shooting in Winder, Georgia, visited the school the day before the massacre to discuss the suspect's alleged behavioral issues, the family revealed to CBS News Saturday.

"My wife had gone up there…the day before and met with the teachers to get him some, they were having some problems with him not going to school, and this kind of thing," Charlie Polhamus, the maternal grandfather of suspect Colt Gray, told CBS News in a phone interview. "So, my wife went up there. This was the day before all this stuff happened."

Polhamus was unsure what occurred during that visit, but said it did not appear to have resulted in a suspension.

So, he must have started school two weeks before this happened, but he was not going regularly.

Suspending a kid for not going to school makes 0 sense.
I find it a bit hard to believe that his wife, the grandmother, didn't tell him what took place during the meeting and what she told the school and what the school suggested and intended to do.
I would have thought at the very, very least a meeting would have been called before the kid was allowed to be in school.

"Polhamus was unsure what occurred during that visit, but said it did not appear to have resulted in a suspension."

 

[Izzylizzy]

dbm

 

[NuttMegg]

Grandpa of accused Georgia school shooter Colt Gray says teen’s ‘evil’ father should get death penalty for provoking massacre

The father of accused Georgia school shooter Colt Gray should get the death penalty for his role in the massacre, the boy’s furious grandfather says.

nypost.com

“Spending 11 years with that son of a screaming and hollering every day — it can affect anybody,” Polhamus, 81, said of his 54-year-old ex-son-in-law, who was married to his daughter Marcee."
He’s evil,” Polhamus said of Gray.
“They couldn’t, they didn’t survive in it,” he said of the family.

 

[NuttMegg]

Disturbing Facebook posts of Georgia school shooter Colt Gray's mom

The mother of Georgia school shooter Marcee Gray, 43, has a criminal record spanning more than 17 years, and was in jail as recently as April, court records show.

www.dailymail.co.uk

In November, 2022, Marcee Gray wrote: 'From my husband’s first memory, all he knew was abuse. Severe physical abuse (I’m talking everything from getting a broken arm at age 8 while he was totally asleep to having a barstool crack his skull open...I still rub my fingers across the scar/gouge on his scalp and think to myself “How?! I can’t even comprehend it!”...that is what substance abuse can do. To a mama, a daddy, a spouse, a sibling....you name it and it will reach them.'

 

[Simply Southern]

I'm impressed so many schools are on board.

AI Overview
Learn more…Opens in new tab

Many public schools in Florida have metal detectors, including:

• 
  Broward County
  All 32 high schools in the county have walk-through metal detectors that use artificial intelligence to identify weapons. The detectors are battery-operated and cost around $16,480 each.
  
  
  
  
• 
  Palm Beach County
  All district-run high schools in the county have metal detectors. The school district started with a pilot program at four high schools and then expanded to all high schools.
  
  
  
  
• 
  South Florida
  27 high schools in Palm Beach County have metal detectors.
  
  

Alot of free (Federal grants) available the last several years. I posted Georgia and Federal Grants up thread.

School Boards need to take advantage of these funds. We can't leave this up to principals and superintendents, who should be focused on education.

The grants require advance costing, current budgets, site plans, crime figures and a commitment to complete quarterly reports, and a final report. We pay ,5k up to 20k per grant to a national firm to complete all requirements and a separate account controlled by SB. It's definitely worth the cost.

Moo

 

[Sundog]

Grandpa of accused Georgia school shooter Colt Gray says teen’s ‘evil’ father should get death penalty for provoking massacre

The father of accused Georgia school shooter Colt Gray should get the death penalty for his role in the massacre, the boy’s furious grandfather says.

nypost.com

“Spending 11 years with that son of a screaming and hollering every day — it can affect anybody,” Polhamus, 81, said of his 54-year-old ex-son-in-law, who was married to his daughter Marcee."
He’s evil,” Polhamus said of Gray.
“They couldn’t, they didn’t survive in it,” he said of the family.

And there's this also from the article:

A former neighbor told The Post last week, “There were nights where the mom would lock him and his sister out the house.

“And they would be banging on the back door, just screaming like, ‘Mom! Mom! Mom!’ and crying. It was absolutely devastating,” the woman said, adding Colt would come to her back door at other times dressed in filthy clothes begging for food.


Sounds like lots of dysfunction on both sides of the family, to say the least.


I wonder if we will hear from the father's family at some point.

 

[Izzylizzy]

Yes, I've heard every possible reason to not regulate the entry of firearms in to public school buildings. Yet here we are, in 2024, continuing to discuss everything that went wrong, in yet another case....wanting to blame someone....anyone....rather than put a stop to the entry of firearms in to the school building.

Baffling.

I've always spoken freely with administration at the district I worked at, and they knew it If a man walks in to a school with an ar15, and 150 rounds of 5.56 nato on him, he owns the place, and nobody can touch him....until he runs out of ammo, the gun jams, he commits suicide, or someone else takes him out. That's the reality.

This kid quit when confronted with an armed individual in that building.

I didn't know that so many schools already have metal detectors.
Info about Florida was available.

So far, most school districts do not have metal detectors​

WPTV
https://www.wptv.com › news › education › so-far-most...


Jan 20, 2023 — There are 67 school districts in Florida. Several districts, like Martin County, do not have any type of metal detectors in their schools, but

 

[mickey2942]

JMO, now, all of the schools in our district have locks on the interior door, so you go to the school, there is a small vestibule between an open door and locked door, and the school secretary "admits" you into the school. This is a security check.

But, no metal detector or wand.

And of course, this system didn't work in Val Verde, as the shooter walked into a door that was ajar. And it didn't make a difference here, as students are not screened.

It reminds me of the security training I had at a job...they never addressed the "real" threat, which was other employees who did not go through security.

 

[Izzylizzy]

JMO, now, all of the schools in our district have locks on the interior door, so you go to the school, there is a small vestibule between an open door and locked door, and the school secretary "admits" you into the school. This is a security check.

But, no metal detector or wand.

And of course, this system didn't work in Val Verde, as the shooter walked into a door that was ajar. And it didn't make a difference here, as students are not screened.

It reminds me of the security training I had at a job...they never addressed the "real" threat, which was other employees who did not go through security.

Not only an ajar door for entrance but a disgruntled parent/relative of a student who the school worker recognizes will be buzzed in.
That's the set-up at my g'daughter's elementary school and they don't know what I my true intentions may be when I am buzzed in.
They assume they're innocent.

 

[NuttMegg]

And there's this also from the article:

A former neighbor told The Post last week, “There were nights where the mom would lock him and his sister out the house.

“And they would be banging on the back door, just screaming like, ‘Mom! Mom! Mom!’ and crying. It was absolutely devastating,” the woman said, adding Colt would come to her back door at other times dressed in filthy clothes begging for food.


Sounds like lots of dysfunction on both sides of the family, to say the least.


I wonder if we will hear from the father's family at some point.

On "X" I saw the video posted by the father of the son killing his first deer and posing with it and the firearm afterwards. Praising the boy extensively, and it looked to me like the same type of firearm, someone else can decide that. If only he had spent half the time (imo) taking the kid in for mental health care.

PS: I'm not against hunting deer.

 

[mickey2942]

Not only an ajar door for entrance but a disgruntled parent/relative of a student who the school worker recognizes will be buzzed in.
That's the set-up at my g'daughter's elementary school and they don't know what I my true intentions may be when I am buzzed in.
They assume they're innocent.

Yes. They buzz in everyone, then ask you what you are there for...lol.

 

[Simply Southern]

Not only an ajar door for entrance but a disgruntled parent/relative of a student who the school worker recognizes will be buzzed in.
That's the set-up at my g'daughter's elementary school and they don't know what I my true intentions may be when I am buzzed in.
They assume they're innocent.

Many schools are adding bullet proof/blast resistant glass to entryways and cameras.

 

[NuttMegg]

“I would find her in the driveway, passed out, with the car running and blaring music early in the morning,” Vickers said, speaking of Marcee —...."


“She would have taken the little one to daycare or pre-K. She was driving him like that,” she said of Gray’s younger brother.
She said Colt didn’t speak much, but that she’d often see him skipping school, wandering around the woods and in the unbuilt houses at nearby developments.
Asked to characterize Colt, Vickers said, “he wasn’t a bully or a mean kid. He didn’t say much. He was so quiet,” she said, noting that he was a classmate of her daughter, Berlin.

Georgia school shooting suspect Colt Gray’s broken homelife: A mom with multiple drug arrests and a dad who gave him an AR-15 for Christmas

“There were nights where the mom would lock him and his sister out the house. And they would be banging on the back door, just screaming like ‘Mom! mom! mom!’ and crying. It was a…

nypost.com

 

[statt#1]

We had strict protocol for all other doors to the buildings. You'd get in big doo doo if you propped a door open somewhere, like, if a gym class went outside, and propped the door, so they could easily re-enter, or if a teacher propped a door while they were unloading supplies, big, BIG, no no, the principal would come down HARD on you!

Many schools have what ours had, already mentioned here, one point of entry, an intercom system, and a secretary would buzz you in. Of course, the secretary gets tired of all the folks coming, and evolves in to buzzing everybody in as soon as she hears the doorbell/ringer go off.

All school shootings are just terrible. Truth be told, it's amazing in this one that the death count wasn't higher.

This one was close to me. I can tell you, when a shooting occurs, the school environment changes forever. Note how the firearm entered the school. Pa. Principal Killed By Eighth-Grader

 

[Simply Southern]

I'm curious--as a data point, how many students are at your largest school in your area?

Approximately 600- 1000 students per school. We have two scanner each for three schools and four for the larger one. Two LE per scanner. (All the training was paid by a state grant). The officers keep everyone in check. I know some Virginia schools use current staff. Moo, major mistake, they don't have LE authority, nor the skill set, even with training to handle the kids. Teachers need to focus on teaching, not be forced into security positions.

The first few weeks it was slow go, but now they roll through. We also offer a free buffet breakfast before the first bell, good incentive to get through the line.(Paid for by our private endowment)

Moo

 

[NuttMegg]

We had strict protocol for all other doors to the buildings. You'd get in big doo doo if you propped a door open somewhere, like, if a gym class went outside, and propped the door, so they could easily re-enter, or if a teacher propped a door while they were unloading supplies, big, BIG, no no, the principal would come down HARD on you!

Many schools have what ours had, already mentioned here, one point of entry, an intercom system, and a secretary would buzz you in. Of course, the secretary gets tired of all the folks coming, and evolves in to buzzing everybody in as soon as she hears the doorbell/ringer go off.

All school shootings are just terrible. Truth be told, it's amazing in this one that the death count wasn't higher.

This one was close to me. I can tell you, when a shooting occurs, the school environment changes forever. Note how the firearm entered the school. Pa. Principal Killed By Eighth-Grader

See we hardly even hear about these low body count kid crimes any more. At the end of your link they describe a machete attack on a kindergarten class, wounding 14 people including 11 kids, about half of the kids in the room. Guy was angry about a divorce and being accused of child abuse. So he tries to kill children.

 

[statt#1]

See we hardly even hear about these low body count kid crimes any more. At the end of your link they describe a machete attack on a kindergarten class, wounding 14 people including 11 kids, about half of the kids in the room. Guy was angry about a divorce and being accused of child abuse. So he tries to kill children.

You're right. The violence in schools is staggering, not just in schools, everywhere we turn. There's a thread on here about this one....

Canada- Girl, 15, set on fire in assault at Saskatoon high school, 5 Sep '24, *14 yr old girl taken into custody"

https://saskatoon.ctvnews.ca/girl-15-set-on-fire-in-assault-at-saskatoon-high-school-police-1.7026855 'A 15-year-old girl was set on fire in an assault at Saskatoon's Evan Hardy Collegiate Thursday afternoon, police say. According to police, emergency calls were received around 12:30 p.m...

www.websleuths.com