The Seminole County, Fla., school district is taking steps to reassure the public that its schools are safe after a student was fatally wounded in a standoff with police at a middle school.
Christopher David Penley, 15, died on Jan. 15, two days after he entered Milwee Middle School with a pellet gun that authorities mistakenly believed was a real weapon. The 8th grader traveled throughout the school with the gun before law-enforcement authorities isolated him in a restroom. He was shot after pointing it at a sheriff’s deputy.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating the shooting.
In a statement, officials with the 66,000-student district said its safety procedures include working with local law-enforcement officials to respond to incidents immediately and secure campuses.