by Garth Meyer
On back-to-back days, Monday and Tuesday at Redondo Union High School, students were arrested for taking a loaded handgun to school.
The campus was closed Wednesday for a K-9 sweep for weapons and explosives and a review of law enforcement protocol.
District administrators and police announced plans for new security measures when classes resume Thursday, Dec. 7, including metal detectors and bag searches until Winter Break.
Meetings will be held over the holidays about long-term plans.
“This is more than just an unsettling coincidence. It is an immediate call to action,” said Superintendent Nicole Wesley.
The district received more than 350 questions before an online meeting Wednesday morning, and more during the presentation.
The forum with Redondo Beach Police followed an intense scene Tuesday when parents converged at the school requesting to take their kids home.
On Monday morning, after multiple students reported to RUHS administrators that a student had a gun, administrators went to a classroom, pulled the suspect out and led him to the office where Redondo Beach Police retrieved a loaded handgun from the student’s backpack, according to RUHS Principal Anthony Bridi.
The boy was later taken to a juvenile detention facility.
On Tuesday, after another tip shared with administration, school officials called RBPD at 9:23 a.m. and went to another classroom, and were told this suspect had left, to go to a restroom. A search began, and administrators retrieved a backpack at the student’s desk.
Restrooms were searched, the student was seen by an administrator and ran. A lockdown ensued and the boy was intercepted by campus supervisors and RBPD. A loaded handgun was found on him.
“We can’t release more information because we don’t want to jeopardize the investigation by releasing too much information too soon,” RBPD Lt. Corey King said. “… Those answers will eventually come out.”
“None of the students arrested or spoken to are documented gang members,” King said. “… We are still investigating what the intents were. No evidence of a planned shooting or hit list has been found.”
Supt. Wesley talked further about how the district informed parents of these events.
“I know that I need to work on getting information to the community faster,” she said. “… We strive to balance fast and facts. During the first 30 minutes of an event, our focus will be, and has to be, on the emergency response.”
Principal Bridi noted that bringing a firearm on campus is “an expellable offense,” and that the district intends to act accordingly.
“We will have zero tolerance for weapons on our campus,” Wesley said.
She closed Wednesday’s forum with a mention of the district’s online “See Something. Say Something” application:.sprigeo.com.
More security has been added to the high school through a private contract.
Police and the school district reported Tuesday that during that day’s initial response, “inaccurate information circulated that a shooting had occurred.”
No weapon was fired, and no injuries were reported.
RBPD increased their presence on campus after Monday’s incident.
“The investigation concerning any indication that this incident may be related to the arrest the previous day, the source of the firearm, and other matters related to this incident are part of an ongoing investigation by the Redondo Beach Police Department,” read a Tuesday statement by RBPD and the school district.
Tuesday’s suspect was taken to the RBPD station for violations of ‘juvenile in possession of a firearm, possession of a firearm on school grounds and possession of a high-capacity magazine, carrying a loaded firearm in public, and possession of an unregistered firearm.
High-capacity magazines for handguns, for 25 rounds, cost about $30 when sold legally.
Both Monday and Tuesday’s cases are being assessed by RBPD investigators for submission to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office for prosecution.
The Tuesday statement also addressed the scene outside the school later that morning.
“We understand that many parents attempted to check out their student(s) from school early after the lockdown. We also understand the frustration with that process. We will always follow protocols when releasing students, despite how long it takes. We appreciate your patience with the process, which is in place to ensure we release students safely and properly.”
“The two back-to-back incidents are something we would never have imagined. We are going to need to work together to solve the issue of access to guns. Understandably, our school community will demand and expect RBUSD to ensure student safety each and every day. Pointing fingers and placing blame is not the solution. Having a dialogue about how we effectively monitor social media, continue to report concerns in a timely manner, and intervene when students appear to be in distress is something we all must do- – all of us, parents, staff, and students. We will continue this conversation and I hope it can be a productive one, as this is a community issue. RBUSD and RBPD are committed to working with our families, to provide whatever is necessary to keep this from happening again. The reality is, it can happen again, so we must work together.”
At the Redondo Beach city council meeting Tuesday night, a woman identifying herself as Carissa spoke “on behalf of parents” in the school district.
“We were scared,” she said, before commending Chief Hoffman and the Redondo Beach Police response.
She told of her reaction after Monday’s arrest.
“I was very nervous. How do we know this isn’t going to happen tomorrow? What are the details…?” she said, adding that her son said on Monday, “Mom, you’re overreacting.” He went to school Tuesday and she got a text from him at 9:30 a.m. saying students were in lockdown.
“I don’t know about sending my son to school Thursday,” Carissa said. …” I want to make sure our kids, their lives are not in danger when we’re sending them to school in our community.”
City Councilman Zein Obagi, Jr., thanked police for its swift response and the “courageous students” who reported what they knew to authorities.
“To the school district, you’ve got to do better. We’ve got to keep guns out of our schools,” he said.
“The kids were legit scared and as a mom I cannot send my child back until I feel like some time has been taken to really understand what’s going on,” the mother of an RUHS student told Easy Reader Tuesday.
“I have no doubt that I will feel very confident bringing my daughter back to school when the time is right. I don’t think there’s anywhere I could go where this isn’t a risk and again, it really could’ve been so much worse. I am keenly aware there are many parents who would be very happy to have an outcome such as this and were not so lucky.” ER
