Loaded gun found in North Little Rock summer school desk

North Little Rock School District spokesman Dustin Barnes confirmed rumors this morning that a loaded gun had been found during summer school at North Little Rock High School. From Barnes’ email:

This morning, during summer school, our resource officer assigned to North Little Rock High School discovered a loaded handgun in a classroom desk drawer.  The officer immediately secured the weapon and contacted police. The investigation is ongoing. There was no immediate threat, and because of that, the school did not go into lockdown.  All of our students and staff are safe.  For the remainder of the day and until the end of summer school, which concludes on Thursday, June 30, additional security measures will be taken, which include random scans and increased support from the North Little Rock Police Department.

As a reminder, in April 2022, the Board of Education approved the purchase of the Opengate Weapons Detection System, a system that automatically screens people as they enter buildings, including their backpacks, to detect weapons that can cause mass casualties. The Board also approved the purchase of the Raptor School Safety Technology, which provides visitor, volunteer, emergency management and scans visitors in real time for sex offender status or custodial restrictions.  Training on these new systems will begin in a few weeks for use at the start of the 2022-2023 school year as part of the district’s comprehensive reorganization of the Safety Services Department.

The safety of our students and staff is our top priority.

No immediate threat, so no lockdown? A loaded gun in a classroom feels pretty threatening to me, but gun-related incidents could really cut into instruction time if we shut classes down for all of them. Where did the gun come from? Whose was it? How did a child get a hold of it? We’ve reached out to North Little Rock Police to see what they know, and will update the story when we hear back.

As you will recall, a North Little Rock High School student was shot across from the school during the past school year. He was injured but not killed.

The post Loaded gun found in North Little Rock summer school desk appeared first on Arkansas Times.