Students and parents at McEachern High School voiced fears about school safety at a town hall meeting on Thursday, a week after two people were injured in a shooting in the school’s parking lot.
They called for a better alert system, the removal of the school principal and more physical security measures at the Powder Springs campus. They also shared stories of panic after the shooting, difficulties reuniting with their families and persistent problems with guns this year.
“I have to look over my shoulder at school at 16. That’s ridiculous,” said Sade Booker, a 10th grader at the school. “I’m in the cosmetology program and that’s supposed to set me up for life — so if I’m considering walking away from that for the sake of my life, that should say a lot.”
Three people have been charged in connection with the shooting, police said. The first suspect, 17-year-old Scott Anthony Foor Jr., is accused of firing a handgun several times, shooting one victim in the leg and the other in the arm, his arrest warrant states. The second suspect was arrested Tuesday, and allegedly engaged “in gunfire without causing further injuries,” police said. Police did not release the suspect’s name because of their age.
Police obtained an arrest warrant on Wednesday for a third person — who was also one of the shooting victims — who was charged with possession of a firearm on school property and loitering on school property, Cobb County Police Chief Stuart VanHoozer said at the town hall meeting. Jean Germain, 20, is not currently in custody, VanHoozer said.
Dozens of people attended the town hall meeting on Thursday at the Patricia C. Vaughn Cultural Arts Center in Powder Springs hosted by Cobb school board member Leroy “Tre’” Hutchins.
Parents complained that the campus and its large parking lot are too open. They mentioned instances of violence that they have personally witnessed. Others complained that school officials haven’t done enough to address safety concerns at the school. Several parents were critical about how administrators and police handled last week’s crisis. One parent said her son was pulled over after leaving school early that day, and was detained because an officer said he fit the description of the shooter.
Credit: Miguel Martinez
Credit: Miguel Martinez
Asked whether Cobb is planning to take any additional steps to improve on security at the campus, Chief Strategy and Accountability Officer John Floresta said the district is listening to the feedback from community members and experts.
“We are incredibly proud of the actions of all the adults on campus, particularly the principal,” he said after the meeting.
Credit: Cassidy Alexander
Credit: Cassidy Alexander
Superintendent Chris Ragsdale and McEachern Principal Regina Montgomery were not present at the meeting.
Hutchins, who represents the McEachern community on the school board, referenced a list of examples of guns at football games or high school campuses this year. He proposed a policy in the fall that would implement “advanced high-tech security screening technology” at schools. He also suggested the addition of non-armed, civilian school safety officers to help monitor students at schools. Cobb currently has more than 100 schools and about 70 school resource officers — which district leaders have said is not enough.
The policy is “still pending,” Hutchins said, but he has been working with Ragsdale to implement some of the proposed technology at athletic events.
Krystal Wattley, an assistant principal at the school, agreed that there’s a gun and violence problem — but it’s not isolated to McEachern High, she said.
“The problem is not just at McEachern, it’s in our community,” she said. “So my question to you and my challenge to you is what are we going to do?”
Speakers suggested a range of potential solutions: adding mental health resources, updating alert processes, creating an app that functions like Nextdoor for parents to network and communicate, talking to adults about gun safety and conducting a vulnerability assessment of the campus.
“This is a good community,” said David Robinson, whose children graduated from McEachern High in recent years. “It’s worth fighting for.”
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