HAMPTON, Va. — Many Hampton Roads schools are concerned with weapons getting through their doors.
Monday, a Bethel High School student was taken into custody after school officials say the student stabbed two other students with a box cutter.
Bethel High School does have weapon detection systems inside the building, but it’s unclear if the student with the box cutter walked through the detection system with the weapon.
Hampton
Hampton teachers union responds to Bethel High boxcutter incident
News 3's Leondra Head spoke with some Bethel students who said they don't think the detection system would have gone off, if the student had the box cutter with them.
"The metal detectors are horrible," Nauje Carruthers, a Bethel High School student said. The only thing that goes off in them is the Chromebooks."
Bethel students say they are required to take out their Chromebook laptops before going through the weapon detection system.
"They make us take it out of our backpack and hold it above so we can walk through," Mariah Jackson, a Bethel student said. "If it does go off and they stop to search our backpacks, they just do a quick open and shut. It’s like there is no digging through."
Watch previous coverage: 'Quite upsetting for everyone:' Hampton teachers union responds to Bethel High boxcutter incident
One Bethel parent says this concerns her.
"My daughter always takes her Chromebook out of her bookbag," Ashley Dale, a Hampton mother said. "She’s told me before that they don’t really check like they should. She says they’ll open a pocket and look inside but you can to go beyond that too see something small like a box cutter."
The director of the National Association of School Resource Officers, Mac Hardy, says a detection system may not detect a small box cutter. Hardy is a former school resource officer and police officer.
"The blade is going to be metal," Hardy said. "But is the system sensitive enough to pick up that small piece of metal? I have a box cutter at my house. The body of the box cutter is plastic but there is a small blade inside of that."
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2 injured, 1 apprehended after altercation with box cutter at Bethel High: HCS
"So there is a possibility that this weapon detection system may not pick up a small box cutter?" Head asked Hardy.
"That’s correct," Hardy said.
News 3 reached out to the school district to get more details on how the student got a hold of the box cutter, as of this article's publishing they have not responded.
