Community calls for enhanced security after Wilmer-Hutchins High School shooting
After last week's shooting at Dallas ISD's Wilmer-Hutchins High School, Trustee Maxie Johnson planned a community meeting focused on safety and security.
On Wednesday, he listened to concerns.
Chandria McDonald, a DISD grandparent and district volunteer, voiced her thoughts.
"Me being a person who has been volunteering with the district for 15 years, we meet with the district all the time to ask about the safety and security and what is being done," she said.
At Wilmer-Hutchins, students must wear clear backpacks and go through metal detectors. The district said it has also increased staffing at the school through the end of the academic year.
McDonald said that since a student let the suspected gunman, 17-year-old Tracy Haynes Jr., into the school through an unsecured door last week, door security needs to improve.
"We have asked for door alarms to be put on unmanned doors," she said. "We have introduced ways to help, they just need to be implemented."
Also in the crowd was David "DaWud" Edgerson, a former Dallas ISD employee.
"I'm a 32-year career educator and I spent 30 of those 32 years as an administrator," he said.
He's made some observations about gun violence in schools.
"We have to have a shift in our mindset," he said. "The culture is what needs to change. I believe that young man knew good and well what would happen once he made the decision to do what he did when he brought a gun to school. The fact of the matter is that it didn't matter to him. He didn't care."
He believes that's what needs to change.
