Decatur High School on Lockdown This Morning
Decatur Metro | May 13, 2009UPDATE: Lockdown is over. See the note from Principal McKain-Fernandez in Scott’s comment below.
A tipster writes in and lets us know that Decatur High School is under lockdown again this morning.
CSD’s Maria Lewis tells DM…
“Yes, DHS is currently on lockdown. The police are searching lockers and the students have been detained inside of their classrooms until the search is complete. For the protection of the student involved, I cannot release any additional information at this time.”
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Here’s the release from the school:
“Good morning, We began our day with a student who arrived to school in an emotional state. He did have a knife in his possession. At that point I placed the school on lockdown as we investigated. Classes and testing went on as normal during the lockdown state. After discussions with students, we searched lockers and some students to be sure this was an isolated issue. He has been taken into custody and we have resumed normal activity at DHS. Thanks for your support, Lauri McKain-Fernandez Principal, DHS”
Interesting that they took the opportunity to search lockers and others students. Seems a bit overboard, but I am not a parent of a child at the school and might feel differently if I was.
Ditto. Not sure what I would feel if a parent, but seems a bit strong to lock down because of a student with a knife. OTOH, you don’t want to be wrong and underreact either. Glad I am not a student anymore.
LOL…we played mumbedy peg in the school yard, but in the 60’s no one ever thought about knives as a weapon at SCHOOL for lordy sake.
My elementary and middle schools didn’t trust students with forks or spoons, so they gave us sporks.
Have you tried eating soup or with a spork? It’s not easy.
When I was young, every little boy I knew carried a swiss army type pocket knife…my dad wouldn’t be caught dead without his…I think that’s why he doesn’t like to fly anymore (and maybe because he doesn’t like the idea of removing his shoes in public).
As for searching the lockers, it sounds, from the above letter, that there was possible cause for school officials to worry. With all of these incidents happening so close to the end of the year when life is already hectic enough, I am worried about how stressed out the students and faculty are.
Calm down, the school is doing a wonderful job of protecting our kids. Attend some of the board meetings and assist them with ideas. I graduated from DHS a couple of years ago and we used to have regular searches of the lockers to make sure no guns and drugs were in the school (on lock down.) Give the school system your support instead of tearing them down.
Such an intelligent discussion we are having!
Knives? Were they Cutco knives, by chance?
I remember “back in the day” when we had bomb threats at DHS. And that was when the kids at Westchester were housed there when Westchester was being renovated. Oh, memories!
DM, Didn’t really mean to be flippant about bomb threats or knives though … although I did enjoy the finger snapping reference, and now can’t get that West Side Story song out of my head .. but I digress. It’s a sign of old cranky age …
I think I agree with you City Resident. Considering the incident of outsider Dekalb kids walking ‘towards’ DHS and the ensuing uproar on this very blog last week, this thread does seem a little flip. Is it a little less serious because this is a DHS student instead of some alleged bad seed Alternative student?
Don’t get me wrong, I love (and use frequently) the West Side Story allusion but maybe not for this thread, guys. Lockdown is lockdown.
Deaaaarrrr kindly Sergeant Krupke my parents treat me rough, with all their marijuana they won’t give me a puff… all together now Decatur!
My child was in the hall as this student brandished the butcher knife and Officer Coltharp talked him into dropping it.
Not funny at all…
Certainly not funny, but let’s not get carried away in the other direction either. If you go back and read this thread, no one’s making light of lockdown or violence so much as they’re making light of some “back in the day” sentiments.
People often try to lighten up stressful situations that have been safely resolved. It’s a way of managing anxiety. It may be awkward, but it’s not malicious.
Yeah…no one makes light of endangering others. I didn’t read any of this as a mockery of the situation. Some of us are wound more tightly than others, and that is normal.
Until I read this thread, all I heard was a knife ( pocket?, table?, 3″ switchblade?) and find out it was a butcher knife.
Yikes. Wielding a butcher knife? If that’s true, then “a knife in his possession” is really downplaying the situation.
If I had known the gravity, obviously I wouldn’t have engaged in such light-hearted banter with SAAC, even though, as Scott said, it was in reference to “back in the day” comments and not the fact that students were in any potential danger.
We need to keep the student who was holding the knife in our prayers. Obviously they have something going on. Also, keep the other students in our prayers, parents as well.
And now we have to pray?
Do we have any further news on this? I have not received an email from the principal or the system.
Well, the only detail we have is that a student “brandished a butcher knife,” and that was from a parent. Do we have an official word on what happened? Did I miss it somewhere?
Are you from the pre-knife era SAACJack?
“In my day we did all our cutting with spoons! Didn’t have any fancypants knives to help us!”
They were reserved for the Jets/Sharks rumble beneath the overpass!
Cue finger-snapping.
And don’t run with those in your hands!
Well, seeing as students at my school learned how to weaponize tater tots and chocolate milk, you can understand their apprehension.
I still contend the most dangerous thing in my elementary school was Frito pie.
I don’t see how one could disagree with the decision to search lockers. If you were a parent, I imagine you would want CSD to do everything possible to ensure the safety of your child.
Yes, surely prayer alone will solve the student’s problems.
What kind of news are you looking for?