NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — After a series of recent incidents involving guns in school, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Monday that New York City will increase the number of random metal detectors at some public schools.
"We want to make sure in the tough moments we've gone through in the last year-and-a-half, that we are protecting our kids, protecting our schools," he said. "We know there's some schools where there's been some real issues lately, and we need to make sure we're adding extra protection to make sure there's never violence, never any incident where a child is harmed."
The city saw multiple incidents last week of a student bringing a gun onto campus.
On Wednesday, a 17-year-old showed his weapon off to a peer at a Queens high school while a 14-year-old flaunted a pink handgun to classmates at their Bronx school on Thursday.
CBS 2 reports there were three other incidents where guns were confiscated at NYC schools within those two days last week.
While de Blasio did not announce which schools would see the increased metal detectors during his Monday news conference, he promised additional details in the “coming days."
However, the mayor said the city is offering some NYPD Neighborhood Coordination Officers and Youth Coordination Officers to be on alert at school arrivals and dismissals that need the support.
The city will also create 20 “safe corridors" at some public schools that will include extra police presence.
"The key is that we continue to make changes and refinements to address what's going on in schools," de Blasio added. "And the key is to always give kids and their parents, of course, the knowledge you're going to have a safe and positive environment."
NYPD Chief Rodney K. Harrison said there are currently 3,200 agents at 1,400 sites throughout the city and while the department has identified various areas for metal detectors — it is "very fluid."
"At the same time important in order for us to seize some of these weapons that are, unfortunately, or potentially I should say, getting into some of our schools," Harrison said. "So, I'm content where we stand with our school safety agents right now."
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