PHOENIX — In the wake of a rash of threats and lockdowns at schools across Arizona, schools are implementing safety tools to ensure student safety.
Though recent threats have luckily turned out to be empty, the I-Team found at least 114 guns have made their way onto school campuses in Maricopa County since 2019. That number only reflects the 20 largest school districts in Maricopa County so the total number for the entire county is likely much higher. The state is currently not tracking firearm seizures in schools so the I-Team obtained the data through a public records request.
The problem is apparent to school leaders who deal with these incidents head on. Some school districts are seeing guns more than others.
This school year, some districts have rolled out new security tools to combat the problem.
In Mesa, high schools are now equipped with a weapons detection system. It's currently in the process of being rolled out at all junior high schools as well.
“I can't think of anything right now to make our schools more secure," said Allen Moore, Mesa's Director of School Safety and Security.
Moore said within 20 minutes of installing the system at Mesa High School, a gun was found in a student's backpack.
“He didn't resist and when he opened it up, I saw the look on his face, and then I looked in there and the school resource officer saw the look on my face," Moore recalled. "Next thing you know, they placed the kid into custody immediately.”
Moore said Mesa has also installed perimeter fencing, three to four additional security officers per high school, and two police officers per high school. Each campus is also equipped with well over a hundred cameras.
Mesa also has an app for staff in case of emergencies, allowing them to quickly put the school into lockdown.
It was used during a lockdown last year at Red Mountain High School and the surrounding schools when a student brought a gun to campus and fled from administrators.
“If we can assure [students and staff] that they have a safe learning environment, then learning will happen," Moore said.
Moore said Mesa Public Schools have had zero incidents so far this school year involving guns found on school property.
In Tolleson, leaders are taking advantage of advancements in technology.
"With all of these new technologies, we're barely scratching the surface of what they're capable of doing, and as we become more comfortable with them, we will be able to leverage them more," said Jeremy Calles, Superintendent of Tolleson Union High School District.
At Calles' district, 15 guns were seized from 2019 through the 2023-24 school year. So far this school year, there have been two additional incidents involving guns.
“There is more violence amongst youth in recent years," Calles said. “We have noticed that since the pandemic, as students have returned, in general, students are not as engaged with the school as they were prior to the pandemic and students seem to have more anger. So, while the frequency of discipline events hasn't significantly increased, the intensity of those discipline events have."
Disciplinary records obtained by the I-Team show in 11 of the 15 gun incidents, the student had a prior disciplinary violation. Some had as many as 11 or 13 prior violations.
That's why the district is rolling out what they call a multi-tiered systems of support, or MTSS. Calles said it is an effort to use data from students to better understand when staff needs to intervene with an at-risk student. Interventions range from behavioral or mental health support to a more intensive response.
“I’m really optimistic about how far we can get with MTSS," Calles said. "It lets us do our own custom algorithms for doing at-risk identification. So that system, when we fully leverage it, I'm very optimistic of what we're gonna be able to do there.”
Tolleson is also using artificial intelligence gun detection cameras that are placed strategically around its schools.
“We've added Guardian tops to our fences to make it more difficult for anyone to try to hop over a fence because of some of the incidents that we've seen over recent years," Calles said.
The Phoenix Union High School District seized 44 guns from 2019 through the first three quarters of the 2023-24 school year, more than any other district. A spokesperson declined 12News' request for an on-camera interview to discuss the problem, but provided an emailed statement from pokesperson Richard Franco.
"Sadly, guns have become easily accessible in Arizona as a result of highly relaxed gun laws and our students having increased access to weapons from the broader community. The challenges that our society faces often show up in our schools. Phoenix Union is the largest high school district in the state and educates more ninth through twelfth-grade students than any other system in Arizona. As a result, we often see higher numbers of incidents related to high school students than others. The number of firearms seized is directly attributed to the access to firearms in the community and our vigilant and dedicated staff, including safety teams."
Franco said the district has also implemented an advanced weapon detection pilot program at two high schools. They are tracking data from those pilot schools to compare to other schools. That program ends in December at which point the district will provide a report to the public.
Phoenix Union has also grown its confidential tip line and has school resource officers on its campuses.
"Schools are not the problem. We do not supply weapons to students, but, instead, we respond to the challenges in our communities that make their way onto campus. We are not the only district seeing an increase in firearms on campus. However, we are transparent about our data and seek to collaborate with state and local entities to work with us to find solutions," Franco said.
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