LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Clark County School District parents are voicing their concerns after multiple weapons were discovered at CCSD schools.
“Test scores and their outcomes, all that is great but none of it matters if our children are not completely safe,” Lorena Cardenas said.
Cardenas’s daughter attends a high school in CCSD however she and several other parents are concerned over the number of weapons seized from CCSD schools.
8 News Now obtained data through a public records request, showing firearm confiscation numbers have gone up over the past 5 years.
During the 2017-2018 school year, 31 guns were seized, then the number drops to 23 the following school year, 2018-2019.
During the pandemic years, from 2019 to 2021, students were in distance learning much of the time and the numbers stayed low. Yet so far this school year school police have seized 37 guns, already eclipsing the total from 2021-2022 which was 32.
“Unfortunately, my youngest, my special needs son, he was attacked in September of 2021,” Yesenia Gonzales said. “It’s something that to do this day haunts my special needs son. My son freaks out.”
Gonzales has three children enrolled in CCSD and they’ve experienced violence in the classroom. Two attend Cram Middle School and one goes to Mojave High School. Both schools had a student arrested in February for bringing a firearm.
“If there are fights breaking out, if there are weapons in the school, the children are not learning,” Gonzales said.
Gonzales and two other mothers, Lydia Ruiz and Cardenas, are joining “Dads in Schools”, a program that kicked off this school year where parents partner with CCSD to volunteer at schools. The motto is “prevention through presence.”
“My biggest concern is that one of these fights would escalate into actual gun violence or knives,” Cardenas said.
The mothers said these issues hinder a child’s ability to focus and learn.
According to the records, CCSD police have seized handguns, long rifles, and shotguns. This week, four students were arrested for bringing guns to Mojave and Eldorado high schools and Escobedo Middle School.
“It’s very concerning that these kids are bringing guns onto campus,” Ruiz said. “It really shows that they’re not focusing in on education anymore. They’re more afraid for their security and their welfare. I’m very concerned. I know there’s plenty of teachers that are concerned also for their own safety.“
CCSD police have also seized knives from students. Records show even in the pandemic shortened 2019-2020 school year, 94 knives were confiscated.
In the 2021-2022 school year, 174 knives were seized, and so far this school year, 138 knives were seized.
If you are interested in volunteering with “Dads in Schools”, click here.
Below is a breakdown of the guns and knives seized at CCSD:
Guns:
- 2017-2018 – 31
- 2018-2019 – 23
- 2019-2020 – 18
- 2020-2021 – 21
- 2021-2022 – 32
- 2022-2023 – 37
Knives:
- 2019-2020 – 94
- 2020-2021 – 20
- 2021-2022 – 174
- 2022-2023 – 138