HENRICO COUNTY, Va. — Questions are being raised by some Henrico County parents and students about security on the district's open campuses. The concerns come days after a student was stabbed by another student at Henrico High School.
Henrico High School is one of five middle and high schools in the district that are open campuses. The other schools are Brookland Middle School, Tuckahoe Middle School, Fairfield Middle School and Varina High School. These schools all have similar layouts where the buildings are not fully enclosed or fenced in.
Henrico High School sophomore Gabrielle Mackey is one of many students and parents questioning the safety of the school layout.
Mackey says it’s what she first thought of when the school went into lockdown on Wednesday. She questioned if someone wandered onto campus because it’s open.
Henrico police said they took out petitions against a student for aggravated malicious wounding and stabbing during the commission of a felony. Police haven’t said what the victim was stabbed with. Mackey and others question if the weapons detectors in place are effective with their open campus layout.
SCENE VIDEO: Student stabbed at Henrico High School
"You see the whole opening to the street. Students, if they live near the neighborhood, they don't walk through the door, they just walk right onto campus. And nobody really says anything," Mackey told CBS 6. “It's definitely like if someone has the intention of coming to school and hurting someone, they could just not go through the proper ways of getting in and just go around the side of the school and somehow find a way in."
Parent April Wright described her sons concerns. She said he told her he feels like the weapons detectors don't detect all the metal because there have been metal objects he has walked through them with that it hasn’t detected.
WATCH: Teen could soon face charges after student stabbed at Henrico High School
All Henrico schools have weapons detectors as of this year.
The National Association of School Resource Officers said their studies show weapons detectors can be effective.
However, they said they can and have failed if students are able to access the building at entries without them, searches are not adequately done when the detectors go off, or they aren’t used at all times of day.
Henrico County Public Schools said they do not publicly share specifics of individual safety plans because they believe doing so potentially diminishes their effectiveness.
They say school-specific plans are developed with consideration of several factors like layout of the school building and campus, surrounding areas, student enrollment, staff training, and available safety/security resources. The HCPS safety team notes that because there are parking lots near the buildings and fewer hallways at a campus-style school, first responders have greater access which can help improve response times.
When asked about if gates for the school had been concerns the district said there are pros and cons. For an open style campus, they said gates can reduce the number of access points to a school; however, they said they also may limit the ability for students and staff to escape from internal threats.
“School administrators hear and understand the concerns of our families, especially our Henrico High School community. What happened on campus this week was tragic, and we remain committed to evaluating and strengthening security resources. Weapon scanners are one element of the larger school safety plan. Similar to their use at large venues, stadiums, etc., the scanners are one form of deterrent on school campuses,” according to a spokesperson.
The district said they are reviewing the schools safety protocols and making adjustments as needed. The spokesperson added that the the school board makes capital improvement decisions annually and recommendations from school administration based on available funds.
CBS 6 is committed to sharing community voices on this important topic. Email your thoughts to the CBS 6 Newsroom.
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