Norman High School firearm incident adds to growing concern over school safety

Within the past month, at least five incidents involving weapons occurred across Oklahoma public schools, including Norman High School, continuing community concern for school safety measures against weapons. 

During the past two weeks, a firearm was found in a Yukon Middle School student's backpack, a threat including a weapon was made at Etta Dale Junior High in El Reno, locking down the school, and a Mid-Del Career Academy student was arrested after a pistol was found in their car. 

A student at Stillwater High School was taken into custody Sept. 24 for possession of a firearm on school property. This follows school safety threats circulated on social media in August, which caused an increased police presence and concern over safety across the Little Axe, Bethel, McLoud, Prague and Dale public school systems. 

The recent incident at Norman High involved three firearms found on campus on Sept. 16, and two students taken into custody. 

Lyla Gaubert, an education senior who student-teaches at Norman High, was at Norman High the day of the firearm incident and left while the school was in lockdown. 

"They had announced over the speakers at the school that they were going to be putting us on a hold, so nobody really knew what was going on," Gaubert said. "It was like 11:50 a.m., and the hold started at, like, 11:30 a.m., and I was like, 'I have to go. I have class at OU at 1 p.m.' So, I leave at 12 p.m., and my teacher was like, 'Well, I think you can just go.'"

Gaubert said she thought it was crazy that she could leave during an emergency, and was surprised that there was not security at the doors. 

"I was in shock. I got the chills, honestly, because I was literally in the hallway while this was going on, so it was kind of scary," Gaubert said. "It also kind of scared me to go back, because I go three days a week."

The nature of the announcement shocked Gaubert once she discovered the severity of the situation. 

"Whenever they made the announcement, it sounded so casual, so I think people thought that it was just something small because they said, 'We’re just on a hold,'" Gaubert said. "So I feel like if maybe they said, 'We’re on a lockdown, don’t leave your classrooms,' then maybe it would have been taken more seriously."

Gaubert also mentioned that she thinks Norman Public Schools should get metal detectors at the entrances to the school, a sentiment mirrored by parents in response to a post following the incident. Comments ranged from parents praising the administrator's response to fears on how the communication was handled. 

Along with metal detectors, the post comments suggested having security guards at the school's entrances to prevent firearms from entering, but the main concern noted was the school's communication regarding safety incidents.

The week of the Norman High School incident, Norman Public Schools Superintendent Nick Migliorino sent out a statement to NPS staff and families regarding the district's safety measures.

"The presence of a firearm on a school campus is a serious safety concern, and we take every such incident seriously. I also want to use this opportunity to remind our staff and families about the safety measures we have in place and, just as importantly, the role each of us plays in helping keep our schools safe," Migliorino wrote. "The safety and security of our students and staff is always a top priority. There is no single measure that can ensure school safety, which is why Norman Public Schools uses multiple layers of prevention, preparation and response across our district."

NPS has a variety of different safety precautions in place, including the Rave Panic Button mobile app for quicker emergency response, emergency preparedness plans, and completing a minimum of 10 safety drills per year in compliance with state law.

For incident response, NPS and NPD follow the Standard Response Protocols from the "I Love U Guys" Foundation. These five steps include hold, secure, lockdown, evacuate and shelter.

Migliorino also noted safety measures specific to weapons, writing NPS uses weapons detection systems at district extracurricular events.

When asked if NPS would be updating safety protocols following the firearm incident, an NPS spokesperson wrote in an email to the OU Daily that school safety requires continuous evaluation.

"NPS continually reviews and evaluates our safety and security protocols to ensure we are using best practices and responding to the changing needs of our schools," NPS wrote. "Following any safety-related incident, district and school leaders debrief with our Safety and Security team and, when appropriate, our law enforcement partners."

NPS wrote that the school constantly emphasizes the importance of students speaking up to prevent dangerous scenarios.

"We continually encourage students to speak up when they see or hear something concerning. Speak Up for Safety provides students and others with a way to report concerns or threats by phone, text or email. Reports can be made anonymously," NPS wrote.

School resource officers are stationed at every school in the Norman Public School district, with 26 sworn in law enforcement officers assigned to provide safety and security services for the schools. This is more than Edmond Public Schools, which has 28 schools but only 13 school resource officers — with no officers permanently stationed at their elementary schools. 

According to the spokesperson, NPS has made stationing school resource officers at every school a priority, including at elementary schools. 

"That relationship-building is especially important at the elementary level. Having officers in our elementary schools gives students an opportunity from an early age to know their SRO as a familiar, supportive member of their school community, while also ensuring every campus has direct access to a trained law enforcement professional," the spokesperson wrote.

This story was edited by Spencer Windholz. Parker Newman and Sophie Hemker copy edited this story.