Blog

Mar 20, 2024

OKCPS speeds up use of weapons detectors at sports events

-- Choctaw shootings prompt strict new measures for the metro's largest school district Last Updated on August 29, 2023, 9:13 PM | Published: August 29, 2023 OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma City Public

-- Choctaw shootings prompt strict new measures for the metro's largest school district

Last Updated on August 29, 2023, 9:13 PM | Published: August 29, 2023

OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma City Public Schools announced Tuesday that it has accelerated its schedule to start using new weapons scanners at the gates of all athletic events in the district immediately.

The rapid move forward to put the system to use comes after a teen and an adult died from gunshot wounds at a football game in Choctaw Friday night.

The new type of scanner that does not alarm for small items like car keys is built to detect the presence of hidden weapons said Director of Security Wayland Cubit at a news conference Tuesday at district headquarters.

Starting immediately, the district will use the new Open Gate brand devices (see video below) by district security personnel backed up by Oklahoma City Police SROs.

The following is the plan released by OKCPS Tuesday:

At the news conference, Supt. Sean McDaniel spoke to reassure parents, students, and the public that OKCPS schools and school events are not dangerous places to be.

“Number one, I just want to reassure people, … school is a safe place for kids,” said McDaniel.

“No matter what we do, one of the most important things we can continue to do is to communicate with one another,” said McDaniel. “You know, we talked about if you hear something, if you see something, say something. And that’s not just a phrase. We use that as a meaningful protocol that we have in place in a school system. If you see something that is unusual, if you hear kids or others talking about things that make you concerned, say something to someone so that we can get involved.”

McDaniel turned over the mic to Wayland Cubit, Director of Security for the district.

“We believe that schools ought to be the safest place on earth,” said Cubit. “And that’s what we strive to do every day and our security department is creating a safe place for everybody. But feeling safe and being safe are two different things sometimes.”

Cubit said that after the shootings at the high school stadium in Choctaw Friday, his department spent the weekend going over the district’s security protocols.

“I’m happy to report that after examining, there are very few changes that need to be made from what we currently already do,” said Cubit.

However, there were several things that would be added to their game safety protocols according to Cubit:

The following is a company-produced short video about the Open Gate system:

Founder, publisher, and editor of Oklahoma City Free Press. Brett continues to contribute reports and photography to this site as he runs the business.

View all posts