Sheriff Kimbrough calls for increased action after incident at Carter High

FORSYTH COUNTY — Yesterday, during school hours, an anonymous tip to school security led to a student with a firearm at Carver High School.

According to the Forsyth County Sheriff's Office, the student was carrying a nine-millimeter pistol with live ammunition when he was attacked and searched by school security officers.

Law enforcement and school officials are pushing to find solutions to safety concerns in schools.

“And what we're doing now is juggling. And it's just a matter of time – and I don't want anything like that under my watch again, I never want another Mount Tabor,” said Sheriff Bobby Kimbrough.

Superintendent Tricia McManus says the school district needs to work with the sheriff's office to secure funds and resources that will allow more students to be checked more frequently. She says the current security systems require a “hands-on” approach that interrupts the flow of instruction.

“Pulling all of our teachers away for this is really not optimal. Safety is our top priority, but we have teachers who are ready to teach.”

The Forsyth County Sheriff's Office says the incident is still under investigation but is indicative of the lack of metal detectors in Winston-Salem Forsyth County schools.

“I don't have control over funding, but I wish I did. What would I like to see? I think it would be great if every school had a metal detector, especially high school and middle school. We can't keep avoiding danger and flirting with it, we can't,” Kimbrough explained.

OPENGATE systems are a portable, walk-in technology found in surrounding school districts like Rockingham.

While the school board says training and testing of the OPWNGATE systems will take place in the near future, it says it will need more funding to roll out the technology in all schools.

“So to get OPENGATE, if it's the right tool, we honestly need about $2 million to install it in each of our middle and high schools,” McManus said.

The suspect was taken into custody following yesterday's incident, but his identity has not been released because the student responsible for the incident is a minor.