MUSD responds swiftly to flurry of school shooting, bomb threats with top-down safety talks

Maricopa Elementary School dad Nathan Newlin told InMaricopa this week he has grave concerns about student safety in his 7-year-old’s classroom.

Newlin said Sept. 9 a student in the classroom looked up guns on the internet “and announced to the whole class he was going to find a gun, bring it back and shoot up the school,” leading the child to be suspended.

Maricopa Unified School District spokesperson Mishell Terry said that “while an incident involving a second-grade student did occur, it did not involve the behavior or threat described.” She did not, however, deny the student was suspended, citing a legal restraint.

No matter what happened that day, there’s no denying threats of school violence at MUSD have ticked up in recent weeks. Maricopa High School evacuated students and staff after a reported Sept. 9 bomb threat . The students were put in lockdown until the threat was determined to lack credibility.

That bomb threat came hours after a 14-year-old Desert Wind Middle School student was arrested for threatening to shoot up the school. Last month, there was a credible threat of a school shooting at Desert Sunrise High School.

So, it came as no surprise to Newlin and other parents when MUSD leaders and MPD’s top brass met with them Wednesday night about what is being done to secure schools. The town hall meeting, which drew about 60 parents, took place at the MUSD administrative offices meeting room.

MUSD Superintendent Tracey Lopeman, who led the question-and-answer session with parents, was joined by Governing Board President Robert Downey and school board members Patti Coutré and Carolyn Lopez.

“We’re working with our students to report things instead of reposting things,” Lopeman said, a message that MPD Chief Mark Goodman echoed.

The chief encouraged parents and students to never assume an incident has already been reported. Many times, serious situations will be posted online rather than reported to police, he said.

Lopeman said it was “a good thing” that parents are being held more legally accountable for their students’ actions. She also said the MUSD teaching staff is being held accountable.

“We lean heavily on training,” Lopeman said. “We lean heavily on communication. We lean heavily on the magic that our teachers do in the classroom, and on how often kids say, ‘Hey, here’s what I heard.’”

Lopeman said students are given lockdown drills, but active shooter drills are under consideration.

“We haven’t specifically done active shooter training,” Lopeman said. “We’re grappling with that. I stand before you to tell you it’s devastating for kids to do active shooter training. We’re balancing that. We’re navigating that. So, stay tuned on stay tuned on how we progress down that road.”

Goodman and his second in command Capt. Stephen Judd also addressed the audience.

“We do track the calls that we get in reference to school violence or school threats,” Goodman said. “Whatever they may be, we take them very seriously.”

MPD monitors threats via social media and Internet sources, plus other police agencies, Goodman said.

“It’s my instruction to my personnel essentially to make it our highest priority in order to make ensure school safety and the safety of our students,” Goodman said, adding it was a lengthy process that tracks safety issues 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

School resource officers are focused on securing and establishing relationships with students at the middle and high schools, he said, although sometimes their attention is directed to an elementary school.

The police chief said SROs intend to establish relations with middle school students, so they keep in communication with officers about student security issues throughout high school.

The MUSD spokesperson Terry said all threats are taken seriously and investigated.

MUSD has a texting system that notifies affected students’ families of a threat or violent act. Terry said if parents are not getting MUSD messages they should contact their school to let them know.

Parents are notified of lockdown situations initially, with follow-up messages that give additional details or confirm it is an “unfounded threat.”

Different levels of information are released so as not to overwhelm parents, Terry said.

“We’ll continue to pay attention where it matters most,” she said.

Lopeman said the district goes through a process “so that we can do everything within our jurisdiction to create that record, to create that seriousness for the parent, too — the red flag for the parents.”

Assistant Superintendent Tracy Pastor said the district also focuses on mental health protocols to help students in crises.

Judd was a school resources officer for six years.

“Our SROs are not just on campus to provide security, although that is one of the prongs of the SRO program … The other two prongs are mentoring and interaction, partner building with students and staff,” he said.

He said SROs are backed up by patrol officers who “are ready to respond and to help assist and be on campuses at any time. Every one of our sworn police officers are highly trained in active shooter responses that are nationally recognized and are best practice for law enforcement officers across the nation.

“We are ready at a moment’s notice to use those skills and resources that we have to engage that kind of threat, if needed.”

Judd said students should be closely monitored on social media.

“It’s not a violation of their privacy to look at their phone,” Judd said. “It’s not theft if you take their phone away.”

He reiterated that parents and student “report, not repost.”

Many times, “police were never called” about a crime at a school or student’s home, he said.

“If it involves the school, call that school,” Judd said. “Talk to the principal or whoever the administrator is.”

Editor’s note: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated the Maricopa Elementary School student’s suspension was tied to threats of a school shooting.

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