GREENSBORO, N.C. — There was a potentially dangerous situation on the first day of school that was avoided because of body scanners at Guilford County Schools.
Greensboro Police said a student brought guns to Western Guilford High School Monday.
Investigators say the 17-year-old had them in their backpack as they tried to get through the scanners.
The school resource officer then tried to inspect the teen's bookbag, but they took off running.
When police caught the student, they found two guns, both reported stolen. That 17-year-old is now facing 2 stolen firearm counts, among other charges.
Guilford County school board member, Chriss Pratt, credited the discovery to the continued use of scanners.
"I would much rather guns be found in a situation like this than they not be found and get into the school building," said Pratt. "It's terrifying to know that there are people who try those kinds of things, but again, I'm so grateful that we have all of these layers of protection in place."
Some of the scanners were added after the pandemic, as a new safety measure at 26 of Guilford County Schools High Schools.
Last year, four guns were found on four high school campuses, and body scanners detected two of them.
This year, the district added body scanners to the 22 middle schools as well.
Meagan Hursey, a parent of a new Northeast Middle School student, said these scanners bring her relief.
"It gives me a little bit more peace of mind knowing he is going to be safer, it may not be perfect, something could happen, but it does give me some peace of mind," she said.
Finding guns at schools is not just happening at Guilford County Schools, there is an increasing trend happening throughout the state since the pandemic.
We went through public reports with the North Carolina State Board of Education. In their annual crime report, it shows a ten-year trend in school crime and violence.
It shows that in 2012-2013, there was a peak in the number of students that possessed a weapon. It states more than 3,400 students were found with them at school.
That number declined year by year and dropped during the pandemic.
Since the pandemic, those numbers have shot back up, close to what it was in 2012-2013.
In 2021-2022, more than 3,200 students were found possessing a weapon.
The majority were found in high schools and middle schools.
Pratt said she's thankful that these body scanners were put in place.
"Our safety team worked really hard to put in preventative measures, of course, some of which we can't talk about for obvious reasons, but some like the scanners, the public is aware of, and they know they are out there and they did their job, maybe saved lives maybe didn't who knows but we know that we were able to keep a weapon away from our kids," said Pratt.
The scanners are just one of many security measures the district is taking. They've added more security cameras and police and sheriff deputies are out monitoring different schools.
Guilford County Schools urges students to report something to a trusted adult or staff member if they see something suspicious.