Broward County Mandates Clear Backpacks Next School Year After Student Threatens Shooting

Public schools in Broward County, Florida, will mandate clear backpacks for all students beginning next school year.

The school district announced Friday afternoon that all students would only be allowed to bring clear backpacks to school beginning in August. The decision came after a student in the district was arrested for making a school shooting threat. It also comes five years after the district was rocked by the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

“Providing safe learning environments that are conducive to student learning is of the highest importance, not just for Broward County Public Schools but for school districts across the nation,” Interim Superintendent Earlean C. Smiley said in a statement, via NBC 6 South Florida. “This added layer of security is a game-changer. It will allow school security personnel and everyone on campus to quickly spot and report if someone has brought a prohibited item to school, and it will also help serve as a deterrent.”

According to the district website, the new rules apply to all students in grades K-12. Only clear backpacks, purses, duffel bags, lunch boxes, and related items are allowed, and all contents within them must be visible. The only exceptions are:
small, non-transparent pouches for personal hygiene items thermal food containers inside clear lunch boxes school approved sport-specific carrying cases for sport equipment approved instrument cases for musical instruments

The decision came in response to a school shooting threat from a student this week. Police arrested an 18-year-old student at J.P. Taravella High School in Coral Springs after she allegedly threatened to carry out the shooting when the bell rang at the beginning of the school day, Local 10 reported. The threat said that the assailant would “secretly” shoot students; it also said that there would be more than one shooter. The threat was not specific about which school it would target, which set off false alarms at schools throughout South Florida.

The suspect faces three counts of written threats and one count of false reports, both second-degree felonies; as well as 15 counts of knowingly disrupting or interfering with the lawful administration or functions of an educational institution, a second-degree misdemeanor.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILY WIRE APP

Last week, the Flint, Michigan, school district went one step further. The Flint Board of Education voted unanimously last week to ban students from carrying backpacks at all. The decision came after two separate safety incidents occurred at Southwestern Classical Academy in Flint, both of which prompted officials to close schools in the area. The policy went into effect on Monday.

As of Monday, students are not allowed to carry backpacks into school buildings. Small purses carrying personal items, clear plastic bags with gym clothes, and lunchboxes are allowed within reason, the letter noted, but those bags will still be subject to search. If a student brings a backpack to school, the office will not keep the student’s belongings. Instead, he or she will be sent to the school office and a parent or guardian will pick up the student’s belongings. Athletes will also have to drop off their equipment at the front office every day.

“Across the country, we have seen an increase in threatening behavior and contraband, including weapons, being brought into schools at all levels,” Superintendent Kevelin Jones wrote in a letter to parents Thursday. “Backpacks make it easier for students to hide weapons, which can be disassembled and harder to identify or hidden in pockets, inside books or under other items. Clear backpacks do not completely fix this issue. By banning backpacks altogether and adding an increased security presence across the district, we can better control what is being brought into our buildings.”

Man Charged With Hate Crime After Allegedly Shooting Two Strangers Execution Style Because They Were White

A black man in Tulsa, Oklahoma, was charged with murdering two white men in what appeared to be execution-style slayings last month, and authorities are calling it a racially motivated hate crime.

Carlton Gilford, a homeless man, allegedly shot two men in the back of the head at two separate locations on April 18, according to the Tulsa Police Department, Fox News reported. Lundin Hathcock, 35, was shot around 9:40 a.m. at the Rudisill Library, and James McDaniel, 55, was shot at a QuikTrip convenience store. Tulsa County District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler said that evidence suggests Gilford shot both men because they were white, and he has been charged with a hate crime for his alleged killings.

“The allegation in this charge is that race or color played a role in these shootings,” Kunzweiler told Newsweek. “Based upon the investigation, we have reason to believe that race played a role in the homicides. That evidence will be presented in front of a judge or jury. Mr. Gilford has the presumption of innocence until proven guilty by a judge or jury.”

The suspect allegedly walked up behind Hathcock while he was sitting at a desk and shot him in the back of the head. Hathcock was rushed to a hospital where he later died. Gilford then allegedly went to the nearby convenience store and shot McDaniel in the same manner before firing another shot at him after he fell to the ground. McDaniel died at the scene.

Authorities said that surveillance footage from the QuikTrip store showed Gilford firing at a security guard and another person outside the store. The suspected murderer was detained when officers arrived on the scene and he allegedly admitted to killing the two strangers.

“The investigation into the two deadly shootings is ongoing at this time and Detectives are still working to learn a motive,” the Tulsa Police Department said in a statement.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILY WIRE APP

Gilford was charged with two counts of shooting with intent to kill, and one count of malicious intimidation or harassment, which is Oklahoma’s version of a hate crime, according to Fox News. The suspected murderer is being held without bond and is expected to appear in court on June 23.