ROCK ISLAND, Ill. — Rock Island High School has put up brand new Evolv weapon detectors in its front and back entrances. This comes after a meeting about a month ago, where the Rock Island-Milan School District announced the over $400,000 plan.
Detectors have also been installed at Edison Junior High School and Washington Junior High Schools. The devices alert when it senses large metal objects when students walk through them.
District Safety Manager Charles Butler said the devices are a response to violence in schools around the country.
"Well I can speak nationally that schools across the nation have experienced lots of violence on campus, footballs games, basketball games, and some inside the building," Butler said.
That's why the detectors will be in use during school hours as well as sporting events. Butler said the public has responded warmly to the changes.
"I got a lot of parents that are celebrating it," Butler said. "They feel a lot better that their kids are coming through a weapons detector. They feel like this is a another layer of safety and that we're being preventative."
According to Butler, the new additions will create a safer space for both students and teachers.
"You can't learn if you're not safe, you can't teach if you're not safe," Butler said. "So we want to ensure that everyone can come into our building and not have the anxiety of not being safe."
Butler said the detectors will allow easy access into the schools. But teachers say this is only an extra form of safety, as students are required to put backpacks in their lockers and wear IDs with them throughout the day.
"Put safety first, I would tell them to put safety first," Butler said.