ABILENE, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) - Wylie ISD parents have a few safety suggestions for the district following the incident of a student having a loaded firearm in their backpack at Wylie West Junior High on Monday, September 30.
Wylie ISD Assistant Superintendent Craig Bessent said there were no threats to students, staff, or the campus. Austin recalled getting a text message and email at 3:47 p.m. on Monday, although her kids do not attend Wylie West Junior High. She also added that stricter safety protocols need to be implemented to protect students at all campuses.
"You read the message; my heart kind of just kind of dropped. It's terrifying after just what we've seen with Uvalde and just other schools around the country. It's very scary, especially something so close. It hits a little different when it's in your kid's own district," added Austin.
Austin hopes to voice her concerns at the next Wylie ISD school board meeting.
"We know this has happened, and we need to move forward. The next school board meeting is October 14, and I will be attending. My recommendation is going to be metal detectors and backpacks in all the schools," explained Austin.
Wylie ISD Assistant Superintendent and member of the Texas School Safety Center Board, Craig Bessent, shared that staff found out about the firearm from a student towards the end of the school day.
"The student stepped forward and had concern and information about this, and that's generally our best way of detecting some kind of contraband or something like this in our school system. Our security personnel and administration reacted immediately to locate that individual, then locate the weapon, and then immediately the police department was called," added Bessent.
School officials informed parents and staff about the incident once the situation was under control. They are now using it as a reminder for parents to teach their children about gun safety.
"As soon as police did their initial investigation, we knew everyone was safe and secure, and we sent out a notice to our parents and staff. It is a good opportunity for our parents to talk to their children about the dangers of firearms and safe storage at home," explained Bessent. "We at Wylie ISD work very hard to make our schools very safe, and we work with intervention and prevention. That is always our main concern, the safety of our staff and students; we work hard to do that every day."
In August, Wylie ISD committed to implementing an AI security alert system called 'Angel Protection' at the High School campus. This technology has the power to detect intruders and weapons from far distances, using facial recognition and more. Wylie ISD staff hope to implement this system at all campuses.
"We're working to have that in our other campuses; there are some technological things we have to do with our camera systems, but we're hoping to bring those on board this year, too," explained Bessent.
Although some families have concerns about the 'No Cell from Bell to Bell' policy regarding being notified and in contact with their child during an emergency, Bessent assured that there will always be a line of communication.
"During an emergency, the best thing a parent can do is wait and get a uniform message from our school system about what has happened and what to do like we did yesterday. Dialing into every student in the classroom is really not going to make a difference in protecting them or making students any safer or parents coming directly to the school. We're trying to handle the situation; we are going to notify parents as soon as possible," Bessent explained.
Bessent said they cannot release much information about the student who brought the weapon since they are a minor. However, Wylie ISD will discipline the student based on the investigation's results.
"We'll just follow the violation student school of conduct or criminal charges. That's up to the police department if it's a criminal act or violation of school of conduct that goes through the Wylie system," Bessent said.
Bessent mentioned that Wylie ISD has implemented multiple safety measures through the years, from injury-proof glass to armed, trained personnel at every campus. The district always looks for ways to enhance safety and welcomes feedback from parents and guardians.
Abilene Police Department's Public Information Officer Rick Tomlin added that because the person involved is a juvenile, the information they can release is extremely limited. However, he reiterated that no threats were made to any individuals, faculty, staff, or the school.