School security praised

Pepper spray? A stun gun?

Incidents at three Omaha-area high schools Wednesday, as well as a partial school lockdown in Grand Island the same day, may have parents wondering if their teens are safe.

School officials said Thursday that the timing was coincidental and that security efforts, including the longtime practice of putting a police officer in each secondary school, are working.

Above all, school officials say, it's important for parents and students to seek out facts, not spread rumors.

“The rumor mill is not helpful,” said Kraig Lofquist, director of pupil services for Millard Public Schools.

Just this week:

Ÿ A student at Millard South was accused of using a stun gun on one of the school's administrators as the man restrained the student.

Ÿ A student at Omaha North was accused of trying to bring a shotgun to school in a duffel bag.

Ÿ Eight students were arrested after a large fight during the school day at Omaha Central. Tension started the night before at the Central-North basketball game. School officials said the two OPS incidents were not related.

Ÿ Rumored threats of retaliation related to a student shooting off school grounds prompted Grand Island Senior High officials to increase security. Local police officers carried AR-15 assault rifles at school entrances Wednesday morning.

It also came to light Thursday that a Westside High School student brought a large folding knife to school in late January. He turned the knife over without incident.

School resource officers, or SROs, were involved in the three Omaha-area incidents Wednesday.

An officer used pepper spray to disperse a crowd watching the fight at Central. At Millard South, the SRO helped to restrain the student. And at Omaha North, the officer and a staff member were among those who stopped the student with the duffel bag.

“The use of SROs in our buildings is brilliant. They're right there,” said OPS spokeswoman Luanne Nelson. “Students are aware there is a police officer in the building. The program has worked very, very well.”

Grand Island Superintendent Steve Joel said his high school has a resource officer. Joel met with the Grand Island police chief Wednesday morning before school.

“The police chief and I determined that the rumors, while unsubstantiated, were becoming a cause for concern,” Joel said.

Joel said the Police Department decided to station officers with rifles at six of the school's 30 entrances and lock all the others. They stayed for about an hour, then left.

Millard's Lofquist said this is the first time he has seen a stun gun at a school. He said the district's safety committee will discuss the incident at its next monthly meeting.

Contact the writer:

444-1037, michaela.saunders@owh.com

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