DeKalb County school police undergoing active shooter training after rise in gun violence

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — Several schools across metro Atlanta are seeing issues with guns either being shot at school buildings or brought into them.

Channel 2′s Tyisha Fernandes got an exclusive inside look at what one local school district is doing to handle these issues.

DeKalb County School District police are undergoing active shooter training drills to make sure they’re prepared in case a similar situation ever arises.

They say it’s important for parents to see that they’re ready.

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Officers say they train often with real guns with plastic bullets to prepare for real life shooter situations.

“The kids are getting the guns in the community and as a by-product of that, they’re bringing them to school,” said DeKalb County Schools Police Chief Bradley Gober.

About a month ago, a student fired shots outside McNair High School.

“He fired five rounds in the parking lot area near the road, and we have identified that student and his friends, and they have all been arrested,” said Gober.

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Police are also making sure that their K9 units are keeping up their training to sniff out guns and other weapons.

Administrators, police and social workers are teaming up to talk about conflict resolution in the hopes they can deter students from picking up weapons.

“We work very closely with our counseling department, so it’s not just about punitive action from our police department,” Gober told Fernandes.

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Students have been responding well to the “See Something, Say Something” campaign, which is how police find out about most of the guns.

DeKalb County schools do not have metal detectors, but police and administrators are working on an alternative that may keep kids safer.

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