Safeway Shooter S Online Threats Raise Concerns About Co School Security Measures

School districts say they are continuing efforts to keep campuses safe BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — With the Safeway shooting on Bend’s east side that claimed the lives of two Central Oregon residents Sunday night, one of whom fought heroically to disarm the gunman, questions about safety and school safety have been raised by community members. According to posts posted online by the gunman shortly before the tragic chain of events, he had planned to go to Mountain View High School on the first day of school on September 8 and shoot students and staff on campus. This has raised questions across Central Oregon about school safety and what steps are being taken to increase safety. Over the years, Bend-LaPine Schools has taken steps to improve staff and student safety. These improvements include social media monitoring to detect threats before something happens, secure perimeters, access to a single entry point and a push of a button that locks all exterior doors if needed. Here are some things the district shares are still a work in progress: More cameras in the hallways and bathrooms and use of access card doors to monitor who enters and exits. As for the Redmond School District, Superintendent Dr. Charan Cline said they are constantly working on preventive, physical and operational safety. “We have five school resources that patrol our buildings and we have a great relationship with our police department,” Cline said. “Our people are trained, our personnel are trained on how to respond if there is an active shooter.” Crook County School District Superintendent Dr. Sara Johnson said the goal is to upgrade basic facility needs, as well as camera systems. “Cameras are extremely useful in monitoring areas that are not fully exposed,” Johnson said. Crook County Schools’ $66 million bond measure to improve school safety and security lost by nearly 52 percent in opposition earlier this year. Johnson said there could be a new proposal on the ballot next May that also includes upgrades to entry points. With community support, he hopes these changes can be made to better protect staff and students. The Jefferson School District sent NewsChannel 21 the following statement: Below are some steps the District is taking to continue to improve every day when it comes to school safety.

Key district staff participated in safety training over the summer. This training prepared us for a number of emergency situations. The District is working diligently to improve security card access in all of our schools. This work is made possible by voters supporting our 2021 Bond. Schools will continue to have a single point of entry for all visitors. We continue to stress to our staff and students the importance of securing doors at all times. All our schools have visitor and volunteer safety protocols in place. We ask that our families help us by following these protocols when entering a school building. We conduct routine safety drills in all of our schools to better prepare our students and staff. We have very strong partnerships with law enforcement and emergency service providers.

Klein said, “As much as we’d like to pretend things can’t happen here, they sure can. Really, school safety is a community responsibility.” If you hear or see any such behavior, be sure to report it to local law enforcement or the Oregon Safe Tip.

title: “Safeway Shooter S Online Threats Raise Concerns About Co School Security Measures Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-01” author: “Patricia Ruth”