North Carolina county to place an AR-15 rifle in every school after Uvalde massacre

• An AR-15 rifle will be placed at every school in a North Carolina county.
• The drastic move is meant to avoid a tragedy like the massacre in Uvalde, Texas.
• Each weapon will be kept in a safe, authorities said.

Is it a wise decision? A school system in a North Carolina county will place an AR-15 rifle in every school this coming year in a dramatic move aimed at improving safety and averting a possible tragedy like the one that occurred in May at a school in Uvalde, Texas.

The Madison County Sheriff’s Office and school officials decided to place the weapons at all six county schools when classes start later this month. This comes in response to the tragic school shooting in Uvalde that killed 19 students and two teachers, according to the New York Post on Sunday, August 7.

A North Carolina county will place an AR-15 rifle in every school

Each of the weapons would be stored inside a safe along with additional ammunition and breaching tools, Sheriff Buddy Harwood told the Asheville Citizen-Times. In turn, he commented that the delayed response of law enforcement during the attack at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde was a fundamental reason for taking this action.

«Those officers were in that building for so long, and that suspect was able to infiltrate that building and injure and kill so many kids,» Sheriff Buddy Harwood told the newspaper. «I just want to make sure my deputies are prepared in the event that happens.»

Is a rifle in each school the best solution?

There will be school resource officers at each of the six schools, including the three elementary schools, according to Citizen-Times. Officers have been training with instructors from Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College, Sheriff Buddy Harwood said.

«The reason we put the breaching tools in the safes is that in the event we have someone barricaded in a door, we won’t have to wait on the fire department to get there,» Sheriff Buddy Harwood also said to the outlet.

Why was the drastic decision made?

“We’ll have those tools to be able to breach that door if needed. I do not want to have to run back out to the car to grab an AR, because that’s time lost. Hopefully we’ll never need it, but I want my guys to be as prepared as prepared can be,» said the official.

Ahead of the start of the school year on Aug. 22, Madison County Superintendent Will Hoffman said school leaders have been meeting with local police to review various safety measures. “I hate that we’ve come to a place in our nation where I’ve got to put a safe in our schools, and lock that safe up for my deputies to be able to acquire an AR-15,” Buddy Harwood told the Citizen-Times.

They hope to avoid something like the Uvalde tragedy

“But we can shut it down and say that’s not going to happen in Madison County, but you never know. I want Madison County parents to know that we will take all necessary steps to ensure our children are safe in this school system.»

«If my parents, as a whole, want me to stand at that door with that AR strapped around that officer’s neck, then I’m going to do whatever my parents want as a whole to keep our kids safe,» the sheriff said of the unusual decision to place a rifle in every school in that county.