GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A Grand Rapids Public Schools security officer opened up to FOX 17 Tuesday about some of her worst fears after finding students with guns at school, just months apart.
One student had a gun at Burton Middle School back in October— then another student brought a gun to Burton in January.
Thankfully, no one was hurt either time.
Milagros Hernandez says, in her six years with GRPS, this was the first time she ever saw a gun inside a school.
“As a mom…was I scared? I was terrified, of course, but at that moment, I wasn’t. I had to just put, make sure everybody was safe,” Hernandez told FOX 17. “At the end of the day, when I did go home, yeah, I was terrified, but I knew I made a difference.”
District leaders recognized Hernandez’s actions at the annual GRPS Public Safety Awards Tuesday.
While the district celebrates certain achievements, student safety is still its top priority.
The two incidents at Burton Middle were just two of four where students brought guns to a Grand Rapids school.
A seven-year-old brought an unloaded handgun to Cesar E. Chavez Elementary School in May. GRPS says that student did not have ammunition and did not make any threats.
Just one week later, a nine-year-old brought a loaded gun to Stocking Elementary. Court documents show that student had wanted to shoot another classmate.
The student’s father was taken into custody last week after a standoff, and now faces charges.
READ MORE: Standoff ends, suspect in custody in connection to loaded gun brought to GRPS elementary school
While GRPS will not comment on the case because it’s ongoing, Chief of Staff and Executive Director of Public Safety and School Security Larry Johnson says counseling is available for students.
The district implemented a backpack ban for at least the remainder of the school year, but it’s not clear what the 2023-2024 school year will bring.
“We understand how important the backpacks are to some of our scholars. We want to take that into place, but we also want to keep safety in mind, so we’re going to make a great decision, a good decision that will be impactful and reflective of what our community wants, what our school community wants,” he said.
READ MORE: Backpacks banned from GRPS after loaded gun found on 3rd grader
GRPS plans to host another forum over the summer about how to address district safety.
