Weapons detectors installed at 3 Gilbert-area high schools
GILBERT, AZ (AZFamily)— School drop-off in Gilbert looked different Monday morning for many high school students.
Before going to class, the students at Mesquite, Highland and Desert Ridge had to walk through weapon detectors. It’s the latest way the Gilbert Public Schools district officials are upping security.
Just last month, Gilbert Police said a student at Mesquite was arrested for having a stolen gun on campus.
Students like Rochelle Goldman’s daughter were there that day. “It really hit home for sure,” she said.
All high schools in the district are set to have the weapon detectors installed before the end of the school year. On April 25, students at Canyon Valley were the first to walk through the detectors.
Campo Verde High, Gilbert Classical Academy and Gilbert High will start using the detectors on Wednesday, according to the school district.
This type of tech is supposed to pick up on more items than a metal detector can. A district spokesperson said the detectors are from Opengate and use the same technology as detectors at sports stadiums.
Goldman graduated from Mesquite High just a few years after the school was built. She said a lot has changed since then.
“It breaks my heart that that’s where we’re at now. It breaks my heart for the kids, especially the kids that aren’t doing stuff like that--bringing weapons to school or don’t even have a thought like that, you know, to do something like that,” she said.
Goldman’s concerned about the detectors’ placement inside the school instead of outside by the gate. She added that the new system created long lines of students outside waiting to get through.
“At the end of the day, someone’s really going to want to do something, now you have everybody like sitting ducks,” she said.
She said the setup looked eerie, but she is hopeful the detectors will keep her daughter and her friends at school safe by deterring students from wanting to take a weapon to class.
“My first thought was, oh my gosh, like, I feel like I’m dropping her off at a prison,” Goldman said.
The district’s spokesperson said there were minimal delays for students on Monday and expects the process to be smoother each day.
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