GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A Grand Rapids Public School building is focusing on safety after two separate incidents happened this year involving guns.
Burton Elementary and Middle School on the city's southeast side will now have a metal detector at the front entrance, for at least the remainder of the school year.
On Thursday, the GRPS security team announced to families that they had conducted an unannounced random weapons search using metal detectors at Burton Elementary and Middle School.
The school said that these searches are done periodically, and that Thursday's search was not connected to any incident or threat to the building.
You can find that announcement here.
Within it, they also informed the school community that they would be keeping a metal detector at the front entrance for the rest of the year.
That addition comes after parents and families grew increasingly worried after two separate incidents involving guns in the school. The first was in January, when a student was arrested for bringing a gun into the middle school. Officials said the gun was not loaded, but school security did find a magazine and ammunition for the weapon in one of the student's bags.
The second incident happened in January, when school security confinscated a loaded gun from a 13-year-old student, and the school was put into a "code yellow."
Leticia Torres, who has two sons that go to Burton Middle School, said she's been fighting ever since to get more safety measures put in place. She said she attended several school board meetings, and was regularly in contact with the GRPS security team.
"I feel like I get the strength because those are my boys," Torres said, "and I'd do anything for my kids."
"And I know that there's a lot of parents out there that have the same passion and feel the same, but they're afraid to speak up," she added. "So I had to be that voice, and I had to be the one to make a difference, and make a change. And once I decided to do this, I said I'm gonna stay on it until something happens."
We spoke to her in January about her concerns, and then again on Thursday, after she had heard about the added metal detector.
"Oh my god, I'm so happy, I was like, shaking in disbelief," Torres said. "It's something that I've been advocating for, and I'm just really surprised that it happened so fast, because it's been a long time coming."
"It's so scary that I kiss my kids goodbye in the morning, and with the way things are, not to know if they're gonna come home safe, or if I'm gonna get that call that something serious happened," she added. "So I'm really happy, and so excited to know that they're going to be safer at the school, not just my kids, but all the other kids, too."
In a statement sent to 13 ON YOUR SIDE Thursday afternoon, Dr. Leadriane Roby, Superintendent and Larry Johnson, Chief of Staff and Executive Director of Public Safety for GRPS said the following:
"We are constantly evaluating our safety procedures and listening to the feedback from the scholars and families we serve. After considering all variables, our Public Safety team has decided to place a metal screening device at Burton. The device will remain on site for at least the remainder of the school year. We will evaluate how it is utilized as the year progresses. We appreciate the open dialogue we've had with our families and will continue to engage with our community in keeping our scholars safe."
"To any other parents or families that might be going through similar issues at their school, I encourage you to speak up and stand your ground," said Torres. "We've got to fight for our kids because they are our future, and their safety is our number one concern."
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