HICKORY, N.C. — Students at Hickory Public Schools will soon walk through a new weapon detection system every morning. 

What You Need To Know

  • Hickory Public Schools installed 19 weapon detection systems at each school this week 

  • Teachers and staff are being trained on the system ahead of it being implemented with students

  • Superintendent Bryan Taylor says student safety is a priority and recent crime involving young people in the community and the continuation of school shootings nationwide pushed him to pursue the equipment

  • The cost is $350,000, and the systems are portable so the district can implement the system at events, including sporting events and prom

Wednesday morning during a teacher workday, staff at Hickory Public Schools gathered at Hickory High School to receive training on the new weapon detection system. 

Nathan Fredericks came to the high school as a teacher nine years ago and has been the assistant principal for the past two years. 

“It's really rewarding here at Hickory High. I’ve built a family away from my own family here," Fredericks said. 

The district bought 19 machines at a cost of $350,000. 

“Emotional overall, it's positive. It’s a step to prevent potential mass casualties," Fredericks said. 

The systems will be at each school, elementary through high school. 

They are portable and can be moved to different entrances and implemented at sporting events or gatherings like proms. 

“It won’t pick up metals in your cellphone, keys in your pocket, so that’s why we can have higher volumes of traffic through these. It's looking for condensed allotment of metal," Fredericks said. â€œIt won’t pick up metals in your cellphone, keys in your pocket, so that’s why we can have higher volumes of traffic through these. It's looking for condensed allotment of metal," Fredericks said. 

The equipment is designed to pick up on bulk metal, like guns or bombs. 

According to edweek.org, there were 51 school shootings in 2022, six so far this year. 

Superintendent Bryan Taylor says he believes in preventative measures. 

"While we hope that nothing of that nature ever happens in our schools, hope is not a strategy ... school shootings continue to take place across our country, there was one just a few weeks ago in Newport News, Virginia. This is proactive step we're taking to try and make our schools as safe as they could possibly be," Taylor said. 

There were also three incidents last summer in the Hickory community involving guns and young adults, some of them students, which is another reason Taylor pursued the equipment. 

Taylor says a letter will be sent to parents with information on the new equipment. 

Since August, the district has tightened security, including only allowing clear bags at sporting events.

Related