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A threat against a teacher. A knife in a backpack. One student who did the right thing and revealed the knife’s presence in school to a teacher.
A man who found his way into a local high school. A semiautomatic pistol.
Another student who heroically chose to reveal what she saw.
These events occurred over three days in April — first at a Cordova elementary school, and then at a high school.
On the first Monday of the month, when a fifth grade student refused to remove a ski mask at a teacher’s request, the teacher confiscated it. The student then approached the teacher in a threatening manner.
On Tuesday, a classmate told a trusted adult that the angry student was
carrying a large knife in his backpack. The teacher notified administration and the student was removed from the classroom. The knife was found in his backpack.
When asked why he brought the knife to school, the student said, “I brought the knife to kill Mr. —“ (his fifth-grade teacher).
The student was given a 180-day suspension from Memphis Shelby County
Schools. The student who revealed the dangerous situation received $100 and
thanks from the entire school.
Later in April a lockdown occurred at Melrose High School when a student
reported to an assistant principal that she saw an armed male walking a hallway and holding a handgun.
When the man saw her, he pulled the gun from his waistband, showed it to her, then put it back and continued walking, describing it as “EBG” — street slang for “Evil Black Gun.”
The reporting student gave a detailed description of the man: black hoodie,
green bandana on his right wrist, black jogging pants, white socks and red shoes. When authorities reviewed surveillance camera footage they saw the man who had entered a first-floor entrance and minutes later exited the same door. The camera showed him getting on a red bicycle and leaving campus.
Although the gunman wasn’t found, the student was awarded $200 by Trust
Pays for doing the right thing.
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