By Mary Claire Morris

Grady was thrown into the media spotlight last school year when a senior brought a gun to school that accidentally discharged in her pocket as she walked through the courtyard. The bullet hit her leg and no one else was injured.

Morgan Tukes’ weapon was a pink .380-caliber handgun. According to an Atlanta Police Department police report obtained through an open records request by The Southerner, the gun had previously been reported stolen. Tukes was initially charged with possession of a pistol by a minor, a felony, as well as three misdemeanors: carrying a weapon within a school safety zone, reckless conduct and disruption of the public.

Why Tukes had a gun, why she brought it to school and how she obtained it remains a mystery. Both Principal Vincent Murray and Assistant Principal Rodney Howard declined to comment.

Two months later, Grady’s student body was in shock after Grady junior Alec Bruno shot himself in his home with a Rough Rider revolver. According to the police report narrative obtained through an open records request from APD, it was rumored that Bruno obtained the gun from a student at Grady. The police report also stated that the gun had been reported stolen by its owner on Dec. 7, 2012 in DeKalb County. The gun was returned to its owner on June 19, and there were no further investigations conducted by either Grady or APD regarding the gun and how it was obtained. =

Not Isolated Incidents

On the surface, it may seem unfair for Grady to earn a bad reputation for the two gun incidents that occurred last school year. A closer examination, however, shows that these are not isolated occurrences.

According to a school crime incident report obtained through open records requests, there have been four events involving a firearm on Grady property since mid-2006. Data on school crimes from before then is not accessible through the current APD system because of a data system change. Two of the four incidents took place during the school day, and three out of the four involved Grady students. None of the incidents were made public by school officials or covered by local media.

On Feb. 21, 2012, a 15-year-old student was threatened with a gun in the courtyard. The incident took place after school, at 4:55 p.m., and the suspect was the relative of another Grady student. According to APD, no arrest was made.

Another incident took place on May 19, 2010, when a 15-year-old Grady student assaulted another student with a gun on campus during school hours. Howard declined to comment on these incidents, stating he was not involved with them.

“Anytime reports are received, if in any case someone may have a weapon, we have school resource officers and they will go and investigate that matter,” Howard said. “We notify the police of incidents that happened and if we feel as though there is a threat or a weapon may be on campus, we’re going to alert the proper authority, and the authority is going to take it over from there.”

According to a document of crime reports put together by the APD, there have been a total of 95 gun incidents on APS campuses since mid-2006 and another 85 incidents that indicate “possession of other weapon” which could include a firearm.

Preventive Measures 

To try to combat incidents involving guns and other weapons at school, Grady always has two resource officers on campus. APS has promised Grady four resource officers starting next semester. Because of a new APS policy implemented this school year, there are 26 full-time APD school resource officers assigned to APS middle and high schools. According to the APS website, by January 2014, 235 part-time SROs will be replaced by 73 full-time SROs in schools.

Students are also required to enter the school through metal detectors every morning. In addition, Howard said, Grady offers many extracurriculars to keep students busy and out of trouble, and students and staff are expected to report any problems to the administration.

“We have what you call duty of responsibility,” Howard said. “And we use, I guess you all [students], for eyes and ears. If a student hears anything of anyone having a weapon on campus, we have different outlets that students can notify administration and all the officers here on campus … Dr. Propst has a tip box near the attendance office. We also have a hotline. There is a hotline on the APS website where they can notify someone in reference to a tip.”

The anonymous tip-line is displayed on the APS website under “Safety and Security” and “Crime Stoppers.” This allows students, and others, to phone in tips to any crimes to keep the school safe. In addition, the tip box is located in the attendance office.

“The biggest thing is this, students can be searched at any time,” assistant principal David Propst said. “We have from the back-up to the back-up to the back-up. We have a back-up plan for everything. We have to be ready for every type of incident.”