PRESCOTT, Ark. (AP) — A southwest Arkansas school district will increase safety measures after a 14-year-old student was shot and wounded by a classmate, the district's superintendent said.
Prescott School District Superintendent Robert Poole told parents and community members during a meeting Wednesday that among the additional safety measures will be a phone app through which parents and students can anonymously report concerns, such as bullying and threats, the Texarkana Gazette reported.
"It gives notification to the superintendent, administrator. We get that information and we immediately look into that information," Poole said. "A lot of times you see things that we don't see. You know things that we don't know. We need your help. A lot of things can be prevented by being proactive. No matter how small, no matter how big, it will be handled how we need to handle it."
The app will be launched in a few weeks, Poole said. The district is also considering adding another resource officer and installing reinforced doors to some school buildings, he said.
"This will make sure we lock down any school building we have in a matter of seconds," Poole said. "Time is precious when you're in a lockdown situation and you have a school shooting response situation."
The discussion comes after Monday's shooting at Prescott High School, where some junior high students take classes. The shooting started as a dispute between two junior high students over the weekend, according to police.
The shooter was apprehended off campus and the wounded student is recovering, authorities said.