Oklahoma's Own In Focus: School Safety After Gun Recovered On Campus

Student In Custody After Gun Fired At Hefner Middle School

One person is in custody after a gun was fired in the bathroom at Hefner Middle School, Putnam City Schools has confirmed. The school was placed on lockdown Friday morning.

The lockdown was lifted when the student was detained, and the gun was in the possession of the police.

There were no injuries in relation to the incident, and the suspect acted alone, according to PCS.

Putnam City Schools released a statement saying:

Hefner Middle School was placed on a brief lockdown this morning after a weapon was located on campus. The student has been arrested and the weapon is in possession of the Putnam City Campus Police Department. There is no active threat to Hefner Middle School students and staff. Additional campus police officers will be on site and school counselors will be available for students and staff. A student in possession of any type of weapon on school property violates District Policy BE for weapons and District Policy EH for student conduct. This situation will be addressed according to Putnam City District Policy and State Law. The safety and security of our Putnam City students, staff, and campuses is our number one priority. We thank our Hefner students and staff for their diligence and cooperation during this incident. We encourage families to take this opportunity to talk with your student about school safety, as well as remind them to report any unsafe situation or behavior to an adult. If you see something, say something. Thank you.

PCS says that the Putnam City Campus Police Department continues to actively investigate this incident, and they said there is no active threat to the school at this time.

Related: Putnam City North Student Arrested After Handgun Found

Putnam City Schools Superintendent Discusses Campus Security

Superintendent Dr. Fred Rhodes joined News 9 August 9, 2023 to discuss school security.

Putnam City Schools Responds To Cyber Threat

The Putnam City School District decided to cancel classes at Capps Middle after someone threatened the school on social media April of 2023.

The district says it cannot disclose the nature of the threat due to the ongoing investigation, but students will return on Wednesday with security enhancements.

By law, the district cannot disclose student information on discipline, but said it is aware of the challenge brought by social media.

“You can’t be aware of every single account,” said district communications director, Jeff Bardach. “They pop up every single day. When we’re made aware of them, we deal with them.”

The accounts he refers to are typically anonymous accounts on platforms like Instagram and Snapchat.

He says awareness is a collective effort that starts with students and parents.

“It starts with monitoring it and it starts with knowing what your child is doing on social media,” said Bardach.