Community Corner
Are Our Schools Safe?
After a week that saw a school shooting in Atlanta and the arrest of a man with weapons outside a Cherokee County school, we want to know if you are concerned about safety at your kids' schools.
By Jon Gargis
Less than a month into the new school year—and in the same week, no less—metro Atlanta residents have seen in the news two high-profile incidents of weapons being brought onto school grounds.
The first happened Tuesday when a 20-year-old entered Ronald E. McNair Discovery Learning Academy in DeKalb County with an AK-47 in his hands. Authorities say Michael Brandon Hill exchanged gunfire with police but ultimately surrendered peacefully; no one was hurt at any point in the incident.
Less than a day later, Todd Kristopher Grigg of Woodstock was arrested after police said say he brought a BB gun that resembled a semi-automatic handgun and three knives to Cherokee Charter Academy.
No students, staff or community members were hurt in either event, but individuals involved in the incidents as well as the media have brought up the potential for tragedy to strike the schools in the same vein as the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting in Newtown, Conn.
After these two incidents in metro Atlanta, and less than a year removed from the Sandy Hook massacre, do you believe your children are safe at their schools?
Do you think schools need to do more to keep children and staff safe? Tell us in the comments.
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