Parents demand answers after student got into Highland Park High School with gun
HIGHLAND PARK, Ill. (CBS) -- Parents in Highland Park pressed school leaders for answers Tuesday night, after a student brought a gun to Highland Park High School last week and walked back out with the firearm.
The parents say they were promised better security after the massacre at the July 4th Parade that killed seven people last year - but school lockdowns last week exposed security flaws.
As CBS 2's Sara Machi reported, parents mainly asked for armed security guards, metal detectors, and answers about what happened a week ago Tuesday - but that last part has proven to be a little complicated.
Administrators say they can't give much information about the students involved in last week's lockdown - or the school's their security tactics. Eventually, the administrators went into to closed session.
"I was fiercely calling and texting, and she was hunkered down behind the lab table in her physics class," parent Suzi Wahl said at the Township High School District 113 board meeting.
"They're scared to go to school," parent Jenny Harjung said at the meeting. "I'm scared to send them to school."
"At one point, she sent me a picture of them in the classroom, and I thought, is this the last picture I am going to see if my kid?" parent Diana Palmisano told CBS 2's Machi. "And I don't think any parent should feel like that, ever. We need metal detectors. We need security. Something. They need to do something."
Emotions were still fresh from last week's school lockdown as parents and students filled the board meeting to call for more security. At least one parent was also present at the Highland Park July 4th parade last year.
"I don't understand what we are waiting for," Harjung said. "My son was researching bulletproof backpacks. That's heartbreaking to think that you need a bulletproof backpack to go to school."
School leaders said they have made some changes since the 4th of July - adding six unarmed security guards to support existing school resource officers, and a system that now requires students to scan in at the entrance.
"We are dealing with something at our doorstep," said District 113 Supt. Bruce Law.
Still, students say it's not enough.
"We are not going to feel safe until there's something done - like metal detectors," said Highland Park High School freshman Star Hall. "Please, something."
Five students were taken into custody last week. Only one juvenile was charged with possession of a firearm and disorderly conduct.
We talked to parents as they left. Each of them told us they were not satisfied with what they heard at the board meeting.
The board did not take any action.