Gresham HS students protest over handling of student with loaded gun

GRESHAM Ore. (KPTV) – Students at Gresham High School walked out of class Thursday to protest the school administration's response when a student brought a loaded gun into the building in September.

Kandie Bradley was one of the parents who also showed up for the strike.

“My daughter shouldn't have to worry about coming to school every day, and that's very concerning for all of us,” Bradley said.

This came after a packed Gresham-Barlow school board meeting Wednesday night where students, parents and teachers spoke out against the Gresham High School administration and particularly the principal, saying they were not doing enough to keep everyone on campus safe to ensure.

People who spoke during public comment said the administration did not follow safety protocols on Friday, Sept. 20, when a student brought a loaded gun to school.

“I shouldn’t have to tell you how bad things are getting at Gresham High School. You already know. They choose to ignore it,” a student told the school board.

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“They let the student who was known to have a gun walk through my classroom full of students. And the police hadn't even been called or consulted. How does this make anything right?” explained a Gresham High School teacher.

Luckily no one was injured on the day of the incident, but many people criticized the school for not locking it down, saying it took three hours for the student with the gun to be handed over to police.

“If, God forbid, there had been a shooting, which would have happened, then it was a fortunate situation that we have procedures for a reason. “If a student has a live firearm with a bullet in it, we should go into a hold,” said Robin Moran, co-founder of the Gresham High School Student Union.

Moran said the administration also didn't handle the situation properly because the school alerted parents.

“I had to tell my mom it was a gun because the way they phrased the email it just said 'a gun' and when she read 'gun' all she thought at first was to a knife,” Moran said. “You intentionally left out the word weapon.”

On the Thursday evening after the strike, the district released a timeline of the Sept. 20 incident:

10:39 am

According to security footage, a community member comes to the school to report that he interacted with someone in the community. Member says the person may be a student and that they pointed a gun at him. The community member shared that the community interaction occurred 90 minutes before his arrival at school (around 9 a.m.). The community member also provided a vague description.

10:41 am

The principal calls the district office.

10:45 am

The principal shares information with campus monitors and the administrative team.

10:51 a.m. – 11:03 a.m

Campus monitors are reviewing security footage to identify students matching the description.

11:03 a.m. – 11:15 a.m

Campus monitors find a student on security footage who roughly matches the description. Investigations begin to confirm the student's identity.

11:15 a.m. – 11:19 a.m

The student is identified and the student's location is verified. The administrative team prepares to remove the student from class.

11:19 a.m

The administrative team goes to the classroom.

11:21 a.m

The student goes from the classroom to the school office with the administration.

11:23 a.m

Students in a safe place in the school office. The school office is closed to students and staff.

11:30 a.m

The principal calls 911 and stays on the phone until the police arrive.

11:45 a.m

Gresham police officers arrive.

12:44 p.m

A message will be sent to GHS staff about the incident.

12:51 p.m

A message will be sent to Gresham High School families about the incident.

1:21 p.m

Police leave Gresham High School with student.

2:45 p.m

All employees meet to debrief the incident.

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The Gresham-Barlow School District sent a statement:

“The Gresham Barlow School District would like to thank building management and campus security guards who worked to quickly identify the armed student and move him to a safe location. Thanks to their courage and commitment, we were able to avert a tragedy.”

In public comments, many students and faculty said that wasn't an accurate description of what happened — and are now calling for changes in administration.

“I personally would like to see a change in the way they handle things like this because it affects all of us,” Moran said.

Taking a stand at the school board meeting was just the first part of the Gresham High School Student Union's plan to bring attention to what they say is an ongoing problem. The GHSU is planning a strike for Thursday, with many students leaving class starting at noon.

On Thursday evening, the school district also released a much longer statement that reads, in part:

“Dear Gresham-Barlow community,

In order for our students to thrive, our schools must be safe and welcoming environments in which students can learn and thrive. My top priority is the safety of our students, staff and the entire school community.

We have numerous security measures in place and are continually working to improve the security of our campuses. We regularly evaluate and strengthen our security protocols and procedures.

We need your help. When it comes to school safety, we all have a role to play. The Gresham-Barlow School District will hold a school safety town hall for students, staff and families later this month. At this meeting we will present our current safety protocols, answer your questions, and discuss how we can work together to improve safety in our schools. …

The School Safety Summit will be held on Tuesday, October 29, 2024 from 6 to 8 p.m. at Gordon Russell Middle School, 3625 E. Powell Valley Road, Gresham, OR 97080. Please mark your calendar.

For those unable to attend, please note that we will share the information presented at the meeting and provide an online feedback form where you can ask questions and share your thoughts. …

Why wasn't the school put on hold, secured or locked down?

The use of standard response protocols such as “Hold”, “Secure” or “Lock” is based on situational awareness and information about the specific situation at that time. Various factors play a role in the response, including the details of the report, the people involved, the location of the event, the time of day, etc.

The student was in a classroom with other students and staff at the time. Because of this, administration concluded that a controlled, deliberate response was necessary and strategically removed the student from the classroom.”

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