‘Give these kids the same security’: A look at the safety plan for Dallas elementary schools following student accidentally firing gun on campus

DALLAS — When she got the WFAA push alert on her cellphone, Crystal Hernandez was immediately frustrated. It was news she’d long feared. The Dallas Independent School District confirmed Thursday morning that a student at John W Carpenter Elementary School brought a gun to school and “accidentally” fired it inside the building.

The district said no one was injured and that Dallas ISD Police are investigating. “Give these kids the same security that middle school and high school are receiving,” Hernandez said. “They need it.

” Hernandez has two children in the district. One of her children attends a DISD high school. Her other child entered middle school this fall, but she chose the district’s virtual learning option for this year.

“We want to go back in person, but when you hear about all the stuff that continues to happen…guns discharging at elementary schools,” Hernandez said. “We’re not safe. We’re still not safe.

” Hernandez said her frustration stems from a number of community meetings she’s attended, emails sent and phone calls made requesting more safety precautions at the district’s elementary school campuses. She said she spoke directly with the district’s former superintendent Dr. Michael Hinojosa before he stepped down in the spring.

“In March, I asked him personally, ‘What’s the plan going forward for elementary schools in Dallas?'” Hernandez said. “His response was that he just wants to keep the schools warm and welcome. ” Following the May mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, the state laid out new safety requirements for schools.

According to its comprehensive safety plan , DISD has implemented all of the requirements. In some areas, like door checks, the district states it is doing more than what’s required by the state. Hernandez said she believes there should be metal detectors, a clear backpack policy and student resource officers at elementary campuses.

Dallas ISD’s plan states there are metal detectors at “most” middle and high school campuses and that the district is currently working to install them at campuses shared by elementary and middle school students. DISD says it “will” purchase 100 metal detector wands for elementary school campuses. The district started requiring middle and high school students to carry clear or mesh backpacks this school year, but the policy does not apply to elementary school students.

While a spokesperson from DISD told WFAA that clear backpacks will be available at Carpenter Elementary next week, Hernandez said the safety precautions should have already been implemented at all elementary campuses. Heading into this school year, DISD says it sought out community feedback from stakeholders, including parents, about what specific safety measures to adopt. Hernandez said she filled out one of the surveys over the summer.

She said close calls like Thursday’s incident are what she feared. “They’re the most vulnerable,” Hernandez said. “These are our babies, and they need to be protected.

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