ORLANDO, Fla. — The father of a Parkland High School shooting victim and founder of “Safe Schools for Alex” talked about the road ahead for the Apalachee High School community after the school was taken over by a suspected 14-year-old student gunman Wednesday.
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“When they went to school today, they [certainly] never expected this horrible result. I know what’s in store for them in the coming days and weeks and months and years to come,” Max Schachter said.
Schachter’s son Alex was a victim murdered in the Parkland school shooting in 2018. He started a School Safety Dashboard that offers resources to students, parents, school districts, and law enforcement so that all children can learn safely.
READ: Apalachee High School Shooting: Who are the victims?
“If the students and the staff don’t make it home every day, then nothing else matters. So, I hope this redoubles everyone’s effort to make sure that we aren’t just going through the steps and checking boxes,” Schachter said.
Wednesday, law enforcement identified the Apalachee High School shooter as 14-year-old Colt Gray and charged him with murder as an adult, according to Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
As of Wednesday, there have been 30 mass killings to date in 2024 in the US, according to a database maintained by The Associated Press.
READ: Apalachee High School Shooting: Who is Colt Gray, suspected Georgia school shooter?
Locally, Channel 9 has covered school safety initiatives for the 2024-25 school year, like the metal detector pilot program in Orange County Schools.
“I can tell you that as a superintendent and as a mom and grandmother, I believe we do have the safest schools in the country,” Dr. Maria Vazquez, Superintendent of Orange County Public Schools, said.
Lake County Schools have also started a pilot program around a handheld device. At the touch of a panic button, it connects teachers and staff directly to law enforcement, activates nearby security cameras, and officers can view live footage from the school and coordinate a rapid response.
In the wake of unpredictable times, several Central Florida school districts said they have upped safety measures to help prevent outside dangers from getting in.
Some measures have included adding more cameras to buildings inside and out, and keeping trained, armed resource officers on campus, and training faculty for situations that put students in harm’s way.
READ: Central Florida schools focused on safety in wake of deadly Georgia high school mass shooting
As of Aug. 1, House Bill 1473 added more safety to Florida schools.
HB-1473 school safety states that violations on the perimeter and safety requirements must be reported to the applicable school official or governing board. Locking classroom doors when occupied by students, and for classrooms to have the safest part of the room marked, and requiring each school district to develop a progressive discipline policy for instructional and administrative personnel who knowingly violate school safety requirements.
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