Gun bypassed security, entered middle school. Horry County rethinks security after failure
At a school board meeting on Monday, around 15 moms were huddled in the back of the room. They talked with each other about their kids’ teachers, house renovations and, most importantly, their gripes with school security.
At the beginning of the month, a student at Myrtle Beach Middle School brought a gun into the building. He had stored the gun in a clear bag, showed it to other students and left bullets in the bathroom, according to the police report. Around 8 a.m., the school found the gun on him and issued a lock down.
“I felt helpless knowing there was a gun in the school,” Caryn Casterline told The Sun News, tearing up while speaking about it. Her child currently attends Myrtle Beach Middle School. “I wanted to be with them when the weight (of what happened) landed on them.”
Andrea MacKeen, another parent, said at the school board meeting she believes the current safety features within Horry County Schools aim to protect students in case of an emergency but not prevent it. For example, the school district approved implementing acoustic threat detection systems, which notify police if there are gunshots in a building but do not stop firearms from entering the building.
Parents have been requesting that the district add a weapons detection system, specifically either Open Gate or Evolv. Open Gate and Evolv are weapons detection system designed for large crowds and allows people to walk through with backpacks.
Currently, Horry County Schools have metal detectors that students walk through when entering the school, but parents have concerns about their effectiveness.
Students walk through the metal detectors without their backpacks as those have enough metal to set off the machine. Prior to a student bringing a gun in, students were randomly selected for a bag search after entering the building. The student who brought a gun in was not selected.
On Monday, after an over-hour-long executive session meeting, Horry County School Board Vice Chairman Neil James said the district is looking into weapons detection systems and would try to add at least one additional security staff member at every middle and high school.
James said the district will review its options and give a product recommendation in mid-March. Board members also plan to add additional security staff into next year’s budget. The security personnel would search individuals after school has started.
What have other districts done?
In September, Georgetown County School District had a similar experience as Myrtle Beach Middle School. A loaded handgun was found in the ceiling tiles of Carvers Bay Middle School and had been brought in by a student, according to Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office.
Within a month, Georgetown County changed its security plan, according to the district website. The district decided to add Open Gate weapons detection to the entrances of all middle and high schools, said Chief Operations Officer Alan Walters. The district already owned the Open Gate detectors.
Walters said with Open Gate, students can walk through with their backpacks and the system can detect guns and knives. Students only have to take laptops and large binders out of their backpacks as those items can set off detection.
Greenville County Schools also implemented a weapons detection system starting the fall of 2022. They use the Evolv system by randomly rotating it around schools.
“The system is a more current and superior technology compared to traditional metal detectors,” the district explained on its website.
This story was originally published February 27, 2024 at 12:23 PM.
