In the aftermath of a fatal shooting last month, Marshall County High School in Benton, Ky., has begun using metal detector wands to check students as they enter the school facility each morning.
The West Kentucky Star reports that the school decided to impose the added security measure after a Jan. 23 shooting attack that left two students—Bailey Nicole Holt, 15, and Preston Ryan Cope, 15—dead. Fourteen others were wounded in the shooting, and several others were injured as they tried to escape the gunfire.
The metal detector wands will be used to check each student as they walk through one of four entrances students use to go into the high school.
Last week, Marshall County High began requiring that all students have their bags, backpacks and purses checked before entering the building. Students arriving by car, riding buses and those who need wheelchair access have separate designated entrances. Those arriving later are required to check in at the office.
A 15-year-old student at Marshall County High has been charged with two counts of murder and 12 counts of first-degree assault, and prosecutors say they will seek to try him as an adult.
Authorities have not disclosed the suspect's identity, but The Louisville Courier-Journal reports that, according to people who know the family or have direct knowledge of the incident, the alleged shooter is Gabe Parker.
