Local

CMS superintendent addresses safety days after deadly school shooting

By Mark Barber
By Mark Barber

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Superintendent Clayton Wilcox sat down with Channel 9, just days after a student was shot and killed at Butler High School in Matthews.

[RELATED: Matthews police to add officers at schools after deadly shooting at Butler HS]

Wilcox said he is working to make changes in the district as early as next week.

The district's sense of security crumbled Monday morning when a student brought a gun inside the school and used it to kill a classmate.

Police said Jatwan Cuffie shot 16-year-old Bobby McKeithen after a fight that started off campus a couple of weeks earlier.

Earlier this year, CMPD pushed CMS to add metal detectors in schools, but the superintendent and board members rejected the idea, saying it would make schools feel too much like detention centers.

Now, the superintendent said he is revisiting the idea of using metal detectors, requiring clear backpacks, and allowing backpack searches.

[RELATED: 'We are sitting ducks': Student pleads with CMS leaders for safer schools]

Still, Wilcox said parents bear some responsibility too.

"We live in a different era today and I think parents have to notice changes in the behavior of their kids. They have to talk to them. You can't expect the answer 'Nah, momma nothing happened at school today,'" Wilcox said.

The mayor of Matthews is now pushing to meet with CMS after the shooting at Butler High School.

The town formed a committee on education last week after an ongoing fight with CMS.

Some parents said how the shooting was handled highlighted more problems with the district.

Read more top trending stories on wsoctv.com:

Cox Media Group

0

Most Read