OKCPS Tightens Security After Middle School Stabbing

Security concerns arise at Oklahoma City Public Schools after a stabbing at Roosevelt Middle School.

A 7th grade student got through metal detectors with the knife he used to stab another student at lunch Monday.

News 9 spoke with the district on Wednesday about security.

All secondary campuses in Oklahoma City Public Schools have walk-through metal detectors, but police reports show the student at Roosevelt got through by putting the knife in his shoe.

Now school leaders say they're tightening security across the district.

10/9/12 Related Story: Student Arrested After Stabbing At OKC Middle School

Families are concerned about school safety after the stabbing at Roosevelt Middle School, leaving parents wondering how a 7th grader got a knife through the metal detectors in the first place.

"Our schools are safe," OKCPS Chief Operating Officer Jim Burkey said.

Burkey heads security at Oklahoma City Public Schools.

"We've identified what problem we've had in our process and corrected it, not only at Roosevelt but all of our secondaries," Burkey said.

The student told police he hid the knife in his shoe.

Lynda Worth wasn't surprised. Her son went to Roosevelt, and got a cell phone through security the same way for nearly two years.

"He said, ‘Well the metal detectors only come to mid-thigh. Everyone sneaks their cell phones in with their shoes'," Worth said.

She told the principal what was going on, but she says nothing was done.

"That concerned me," Worth says, "When I found out that, I was like, ‘What else are they sneaking in?'"

The district is taking more precautions, but Burkey says no security system is perfect.

"You've got to understand we're wanding and scanning over 20,000 secondary students on a daily basis, so something like this happening is an anomaly. It does occur though," Burkey said.

Police reports also show the attacking student had a box blade hidden in his pants. He faces a charge of  assault and battery with a deadly weapon and carrying a weapon on school grounds.

That student has been suspended from school for a year.