N.C. school district places AR-15 in emergency safes

MIAMI, FL - DECEMBER 18: In this photo illustration, a Rock River Arms AR-15 rifle is seen with ammunition on December 18, 2012 in Miami, Florida. The weapon is similar in style to the Bushmaster AR-15 rifle that was used during a massacre at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut. Firearm sales have surged recently as speculation of stricter gun laws and a re-instatement of the assault weapons ban following the mass shooting. (Photo illustration by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

MIAMI, FL – DECEMBER 18: In this photo illustration, a Rock River Arms AR-15 rifle is seen with ammunition on December 18, 2012 in Miami, Florida. (Photo illustration by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

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UPDATED 12:30 PM PT – Saturday, August 6, 2022

A school district in North Carolina is making strides to ensure the safety of their students. The Madison County School District said it will begin storing AR-15 rifles in emergency safes at five of their schools.

“We were able to put an AR-15 rifle and safes in all of our schools in the county,” Sheriff Buddy Harwood told the Asheville Citizen-Times. “We’ve also got breaching tools to go into those safes. We’ve got extra magazines with ammo in those safes.”

The sheriff’s department believes the new measure will ensure responding officers will be more prepared in the event of a school shooting. This comes after the where Uvalde Police waited 77 minutes in the hallway.

“Those officers were in that building for so long, and that suspect was able to infiltrate that building and injure and kill so many kids,” said Harwood.

The schools where the safes will be located are Brush Creek Elementary, Hot Springs Elementary, Mars Hill Elementary, Madison Middle, Madison High and Madison Early College High. Madison County Schools Superintendent Will Hoffman said that the system’s administration has been in regular contact with Harwood and the rest of the police department about school security.

“I hate that we’ve come to a place in our nation where I’ve got to put a safe in our schools, and lock that safe up for my deputies to be able to acquire an AR-15. But, we can shut it off and say it won’t happen in Madison County, but we never know,” he said.

Gun violence overall spiked in 2020, but recent statistics indicate it is coming down this year in many cities.

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TK

Source: One America News