Public meeting held after serious gun scare at Eugenia B. Thomas K-8 Center
MIAMI - The Miami-Dade School District held a public meeting with parents about the serious scare that happened earlier in the week.
On Monday, a student at Eugenia B. Thomas K-8 Center brought a loaded gun to campus.
We learned on Friday, students alerted a teacher about the loaded gun. The school then immediately went into a Code Yellow.
Officials told CBS4 that the school resource officer retrieved it.
The boy who brought it in is no longer a student at the school, and it has yet to be determined if he will be expelled from the district. His dad faces charges for the incident.
Parents shared frustration Friday that school administrators did not handle the situation appropriately. School leaders stopped students from calling or texting parents about what happened while waiting hours until information parents of what happened.
"My kid arrived [home] that day [and said] mom, 'I thought I was going to die,'" said Laura, a parent of a second-grade student at Eugenia B. Thomas. "I said goodbye to my friends. I was crying."
She says she found out Monday night that her son believed there was an active shooter.
"As a parent, knowing what he went through, I would have picked him up [before school let out]," said Laura.
Like most parents we spoke with and heard from, she learned after the school day that a weapon was found on campus, and the student responsible was removed. That's several hours after the incident.
During Friday's meeting, school board member Christi Fraga called for improvement in sharing vital information with parents.
"They felt the information was withheld from them in a way that made them nervous," said Fraga. "We look at how we can create policy or improve our policy to make sure communication is swift and accurate."
While Fraga and district leaders fielded questions from parents, school leadership observed from the side.
The school on Monday did not go into a complete lockdown, with classes still in session during the situation. One parent asked why not a code red and a complete lockdown once the loaded gun was discovered.
"Every scene is different," said Miami-Dade Schools Chief of Police Edwin Lopez. "It's very fluid. It's based on the judgment of those folks at the school at the time."
Lopez says the school resource officers and staff did an excellent job containing the scene.
Fraga wants to see improvements to steps after its contained, including allowing students time to cope, especially those in the class where the gun was found or others traumatized by being in a lockdown situation.
"Should have had a little more attention before resuming a normal school day," added Fraga. "Those who needed it. I'm of the belief parents should be involved in that process. Parents should be immediately called, notified, and then the process should start."
Fraga says counselors went into every class on Tuesday to discuss what happened.
Chief Lopez assured worried parents his team remains ready to respond to protect students' lives in case of an active threat.
"What occurred in Uvalde will not occur here," Lopez said to the parents.
"We're not waiting an hour to go in and tackle an active shooter and take him out. Not going to happen in Miami-Dade County."
Lopez says his officers are trained to neutralize a threat quickly, and there's an officer at every school within the district.
Fraga emphasized that the incident remains under investigation, including communication with students and parents.