A North Carolina sheriff has revealed that schools will be equipped with AR-15s as a new safety measure, NBC News has reported.
The controversial decision was reportedly spurred on by the Robb Elementary School shooting that took place three month ago. During that heartbreaking incident, 18-year-old Salvador Ramos went on a rampage in an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, fatally shooting 19 children and two teachers.
A damning report from the Texas House of Representatives revealed that responding police in Uvalde ignored active-shooter training. The report also brought attention to "poor decision-making" and "systemic failures" demonstrated by authorities on the day.
Speaking to local news station WLOS, Sheriff Buddy Harwood stated that "having a deputy just armed with a handgun isn't enough to stop these animals [...] That's why I've decided to arm all of my school resource officers with AR-15 rifles."
Harwood has been working closely with local school authorities to arrange for all six schools under his jurisdiction in Madison County, to be given the military-grade combat weapons in what one online newspaper referred to as "beefed up security measures."
The guns - which can be owned by people as young as 18 if purchased from a licensed dealer - will be kept in safes at undisclosed locations, and are intended for student resource officers (SROs) to use against gunmen.
The federal assault weapon ban - introduced in 1994 by then-President Bill Clinton - expired in 2004, meaning everyday Americans have since had easy access to AR-15s. In the decade prior, access to such weapons was strictly monitored by legislation.
"I just want to make sure my deputies are prepared," Sheriff Harwood says. However, not everyone is convinced.
Dr. Dorothy Espelage, a University of North Carolina Chapel Hill professor in the School of Education is skeptical of the recent decision. Having conducted decades of studies on school safety, she believes the presence of AR-15s won't make a difference:
"What's going to happen is we're going to have accidents with these guns. Just the presence of an SRO increases violence in the schools. There's more arrests of kids. Why is it that they have to have these AR-15s? It doesn't make any sense."
Locals have mixed opinions, too. A Madison County mother told WLOS: "I would prefer to have the children safe, but then anyone, you don't know, could get hold of an AR-15. Locks can be broken."
Sheriff Harwood has assured those sitting on the fence that there will be other measures in place to strengthen security; including panic buttons in each building, school safety liaisons, school social workers, and school counselors in each school.
