Gainesville School Board Considers Keeping Rifles in School Offices
Colt Defense LLC
Three Gainesville city schools would have one rifle a piece inside their buildings under a proposal being considered by the city’s school board. The plan was first proposed after school shootings in Newtown, Connecticut and was brought up again after a recent shooting incident in a DeKalb County school.
The Gainesville Police Department is proposing the plan. Under the proposal, the rifles would be locked in safes in the offices of school resource officers. Those officers are trained police officers who already carry a handgun and have a rifle in their vehicles. But Gainesville Police Corporal Kevin Holbrook says officers need easier access to their rifles in case of a school shooting.
“If we could handle that situation immediately and take care of that threat then we can save lives and potentially keep that adversary from taking more lives.”
Gainesville School Superintendent Merrianne Dyer says she respects the department’s opinion, but ultimately she believes each individual school should decide for itself.
“It’s very important to me as the superintendent that the school make the decision about what’s best for them.”
Earlier this year, the governance board at the Academy at Wood’s Mill recommended the board approve the plan. Meanwhile, the governance board at Gainesville High School has questions about the proposal. The school board could vote early next month.
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