Parent wants stricter security after student arrested with knife at school

CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga. — Police arrested a high school student they said had a knife after he was involved in a fight on campus.

The incident has one mother calling for stricter security at the Clayton County School.

"One officer is not enough. One officer is not enough for our kids to be protected," the mother said, asking not to be identified.

She thinks having more than one school resource officer in schools would help prevent incidents like this.

The mother also believes having working metal detectors would help.

"I have a pocketknife here and I walk in and out through that metal detector here and it doesn't go off," she said.

The school system admits some of its metal detectors don't work. It's why it is asking taxpayers to vote to continue a 1 percent Special Option Local Sales Tax, or SPLOST, to pay for new metal detectors and other security enhancements at all schools.

Police say the student they arrested had the knife in his backpack. Officers said earlier he was involved in a fight with another student on campus.

Channel 2's Tom Jones spoke to a student who says he saw the fight. He  said he saw his friend get attacked and saw the student with a knife.

"Well, I only saw the fight that went on and when he got knocked down everybody just ran away," the student said, who did not want to be identified.

The student told Jones the school's metal detectors are useless.

"But I don't know why they don't turn it on. I don't get why the metal detectors don't work," the student said.

"My son's not going to be coming to the school until this is fixed," the mother said.

The Clayton County Schools Police Chief said one of its goals is to have working metal detectors in all schools.

Officers aren't releasing the arrested student's name because of his age.

WSBTV