Charlotte Area Schools Ramp Up Security After Florida Shooting

CHARLOTTE, NC -- Parents and students will be seeing more police and law enforcement at Charlotte-area school campuses following following Wednesday’s school shooting in Broward County, Florida, CMS Superintendent Dr. Clayton Wilcox said Thursday.

“Across the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools district, our hearts are heavy as we stand with the Broward County community in the wake of yesterday’s tragic loss of lives to violence on a school campus yet again,” Wilcox said in a statement Feb. 15. “I have asked our team to review all safety procedures and I have asked our police and other local law enforcement agencies to increase their visibility and presence on and around our campuses.”

CMS is making counseling available in every school for anyone who wishes to talk about the tragedy, he said.

Seventeen people were shot to death and numerous others injured Wednesday after a former student opened fire at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, marking a horrific and sadly familiar episode of school violence, according to law enforcement and school officials.

Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel identified the shooter as Nicholas de Jesus Cruz, 19, who was taken into custody shortly after the killing spree began just before the end of the school day. The sheriff said 12 people died in the school building, two outside the school and one on the street. Two people died at the hospital from their injuries, the sheriff said. Fourteen people injured in the shooting were being treated at local hospitals.

SEE ALSO: NC-Based Gun Maker Remington Files For Bankruptcy

Israel said the gunman was armed with an AR-15 rifle with multiple magazines. The sheriff said the former student's social media accounts contained material that was "very, very disturbing." He had previously been expelled from the high school.

Heavily armed police were seen sweeping the school campus and students were seen running to officers outside the school in Broward County when reports of the shooting were first made.
Broward Schools said in a statement posted to Twitter that close to the school's dismissal around 2:40 p.m., students and staff heard what sounded like gunfire. Students said a fire alarm sounded before the shooting began. The school enacted a "code red" lockdown after the reports of gunfire.

SEE ALSO: Florida School Shooting: Sheriff Says 17 Dead

"It's a horrific situation," Superintendent Robert Runcie said in a TV interview. "It's just a horrible day for us." He added that there was no known threat and the school district had received no phone calls about a possible threat.

"Words cannot express the sorrow we feel," Runcie said. He said the school would be closed for the remainder of the week.

Israel said the accused shooter was taken into custody without incident and he attended the school at some point but was not a current student.

Joshua Gonzalez, an 11th grade student at the school, told Patch that when the fire alarm sounded he believed a simple drill was underway.

"I was walking down the stairs when I heard shots and I immediately started to run back inside because obviously that's what anyone else would do," said Gonzalez, 17, as he made his way home from the school.

Sen. Bill Nelson said he was told by federal authorities that the gunman pulled a fire alarm at the school to get students out of their classrooms. The senator said the shooter was armed with smoke grenades and wore a gas mask. Nelson said he wasn't told whether the gunman used any of the smoke grenades.

A student who was not identified told WSVN that he knows the shooter.

"He's been a troubled kid," the student told the news channel.

Patch Editor Paul Scicchitano contributed to this report

Photo via Shutterstock