Laurel Middle High School to get weapons detection system, parent says that’s not enough

LAUREL, Del. – Laurel Middle High School is rolling out a weapons detection system, but one parent asks what will a metal detector do if the weapon is someone’s fist.

“Stanley cups can be a weapon anything can be a weapon. Metal detectors – how are you going to stop the fights?” Danielle Nock asks.

The school district believes installing new tech is the answer to ensuring a safe learning environment. The assistant superintendent says “The safety and well-being of our students and staff are our top priorities, and we believe that the implementation of this system will provide an additional layer of security to help keep our school community safe.”

Laurel Police Department says the devices are specifically designed to alert to weapons, but not everyone is convinced it’s the solution. “There’s nothing that’s gonna happen, there’s still people- teachers in harm’s way, kids getting hurt, you stop them from bringing weapons yeah but your fist can be a weapon what are you doing about that?” said Nock.

Parent Danielle Nock grew up in Laurel and now her kids also go to the Middle High School. She says she’s seen firsthand what’s happening within school walls. “There was an incident before where my son was in a fight in the cafeteria where the staff member held my son down while this other student was still allowed to kick and punch my son,” said Nock.

The school did not comment directly on that incident, but Nock says it’s about more than just the student’s safety. “They need to really think about the kids and the staff as well because you can’t have a school without the staff, so you need to think about ways that you can protect your staff,” said Nock.

The school district says the safety measures are not in response to any specific threats, instead saying they are proactive measures. As a concerned parent, Nock believes more needs to be done to ensure all methods of violence are prevented. “I think they should just implement more security maybe have trained people that can come in maybe police the hallways and not make the kids kinda feel like they’re in jail but extra security so the kids know that there is somebody here protecting us, parents can feel safe when they send their kids to school,” said Nock.

The school will be using the weapons detection system randomly to enhance its safety efforts.