PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY, Md. – Following unfortunate shootings at Morgan State and Bowie State during their respective homecoming weekends, safety has been of concern to many parents starting off the school year in Prince George’s.
By November, each high school in the county will be equipped with at least eight screening devices, said school system safety and security services director Gary Cunningham. He added that eight of the county’s 42 middle schools will also have screening technology by spring 2024. The security screening devices are portable and can be moved as needed throughout the school’s campus for sports games and other events. Suitland, Wise, Bowie, High Point, Central, Oxon Hill and DuVal currently have metal detectors installed.
“As a community, we must do more,” said PGCPS Board of Education’s student member and DuVal senior Rayne Rivera-Forbes during a PGCPS townhall on student safety shortly after the tragic shooting of Jayda Medrano-Moore near DuVal High School. “A lot of violence happens outside of school, off of school property, and we have to start asking more questions like, ‘What is causing students to take actions like this?’” She also said at the forum that the metal detectors and clear backpacks make a big difference, but further action is needed.
The union representing PGCPS bus drivers also requested additional security measures and to hire 228 more drivers in late September.
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