BATON ROUGE, LA (WAFB) -
Another teenager has been charged in connection to the loaded gun that was found Tuesday at an East Baton Rouge Parish School.
The 40 Caliber gun was found at Park Forest Middle School inside a backpack that was thrown into a trash can outside of the building.
Two teenagers, ages 13- and 14-years-old were charged Tuesday after a student tipped off school leaders about a gun on campus.
The School Drug Task Force charged another 14-year-old student Wednesday.
"On the heels of this tragedy in CT we have to be very very vigilant to make sure we don't have anything close to that or any situation where somebody's shot at school," said Mayor-President Kip Holden.
Dr. Herman Brister, associate superintendent for
Student Support Services for thewith the East Baton Rouge Parish School System released the following statement:
While no public site
can be totally protected at all times, this School System has made every effort
possible to ensure we are as prepared as can be at our schools. We have a
school safety task force, in-school emergency plans and a strong relationship
with all the local law enforcement agencies. Many schools have Sheriff's
deputies on site throughout the day.
Our teachers,
administrators and other employees are involved in regular crisis trainings and
exercises. After the exercises, our administrators have certification in NIMS,
the National Incident Management System. In addition, our school staff is
very diligent in conducting constant walk-throughs, funneling foot traffic
through a main entrance, doing periodic searches of schools and utilizing metal
detectors and security cameras.
Probably our most
important defense, however, is the relationships we form with our students and
families. Students develop a sense of trust with staff and feel
comfortable enough to come to us with inside tips. Most of the weapons, drugs
and violence tips we get come from our students, who also have a vested
interest in keeping their school safe.
We have counselors and
I CARE Program team professionals
available to staff and students at the school in case assistance is needed
today.
The gun found at Park Forest Middle School was traced back to a home burglary that happened last year in Tangipahoa Parish.
Police say more arrests are expected in this case.
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