CHARLOTTE, NC - School districts across the Carolinas are beefing up security this high school football season.
Oconee County School District in South Carolina is one of the latest school districts to implement a metal detector before Friday night football games.
The Oconee County Sheriff’s Office is teaming up with the district to put a metal detector in place at the Friday night football game between Seneca and Daniel. Purses and diaper bags will still be allowed but are subject to search. Backpacks and larger bags are not allowed.
New this season, fans who attend football games at Byrnes High School’s Nixon Field in South Carolina will also be required to go through metal detectors.
These additions come in the midst of two recent shootings at high school football games in Florida.
Officials say two men were shot at a Palm Beach Central High School game earlier in August. A week later, police say a triple shooting at a game at William M. Raines High in Jacksonville left one man dead and two others injured.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) tells WCNC every person entering a CMS football stadium is subject to bag checks and metal detector screenings by Show Pros staff hired to work the games. This has been the standard operating procedure for more than a decade.
WCNC reached out to several other districts in the Charlotte area for safety and security protocol at games. Schools in Lancaster County, Union County and some in Iredell County said they do not use metal detectors at games but do have uniformed officers present. South Iredell High School reports utilizing bag checks as a security precaution at its games.