Latest news with #AntiochHigh
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Yahoo
Juvenile records show Nashville teen on probation at time of Antioch High School shooting
Juvenile court records of the teen who fatally shot a student before fatally shooting himself Jan. 22 at Antioch High School was on probation at the time of the shooting for pulling a box cutter on a student. Two weeks before Solomon Henderson fatally shot 16-year-old Josselin Corea Escalante, a Jan. 8 ruling said Henderson required treatment or rehabilitation and was ordered to judicial diversion, a court-ordered program for juvenile offenders, after a 2024 incident when he brought a box cutter to school. The records release comes after Tennessee lawmakers passed legislation this year allowing for such documents to be released. Henderson was charged with carrying a box cutter on school property in October 2024 as well as reckless endangerment with a deadly weapon. The file notes that Henderson was ordered to stay away from a student, whose name was redacted in the report. It also said Henderson would be home schooled and supervised by his mother. More: Antioch school shooting: Nashville suspect, 17, posted alt-right paraphernalia, photos from past school shootings Records show the box cutter incident happened on or around Oct. 24, 2024, and the victim in the case was a female student.. When questioned by school administration, the female student said the two were walking to lunch when she said "hey" to Henderson. When he didn't hear her, the report said the female said "hey" again and her turned to her and pulled the box cutter from his jacket pocket and exposed the blade before walking to a table and sitting down. The report said Henderson said he would "cut anyone" that walks up on him. Henderson told school officials the unnamed student came up with her friends saying they were going to "jump him." A second incident reported in Henderson's file showed the teen was charged in November 2023 with one count each of aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor and sexual exploitation of a minor for downloading child pornography. More: Nashville police: Antioch High School student fired 10 shots in 17 seconds The teen admitting to downloading sexual images and videos of minor children and posting them to various Discord server accounts, records show. Henderson was released to his parents and was ordered to not use social media and not have access to the internet, cell phones or computers, according to filings. Chaos unfolded at Antioch High School at 11:09 a.m. Jan. 22 as Henderson, armed with a pistol, opened fire in the school's cafeteria, fatally wounding Escalante before using the weapon on himself. MNPD Chief John Drake said it was not clear if the shooting was targeted, or if there was a motive behind it. He said at the time that an investigation was underway, and there were a variety of leads. In the wake of the shooting, Adrienne Battle, the MNPS director, said multiple safety measures were in place at Antioch High, including school resource officers, a secured vestibule at the entrance and cameras with weapon-detection software. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville teen brought weapon to Antioch High before shooting
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
In wake of Antioch High shooting, Nashville Council asks police to review school safety
The Metro Nashville Council is calling for a law enforcement review of Metro Nashville Public Schools safety measures in the wake of Nashville's second fatal school shooting in the past two years. At Tuesday's Metro Council meeting, the group voted 27-8, with two abstentions, to approve a resolution requesting that the Metro Nashville Police Department conduct an evaluation of MNPS safety plans. Council members Delishia Porterfield, Quin Evans-Segall, Sean Parker, Ginny Welsch, Terry Vo, Sandra Sepulveda and Antoinette Lee voted against the resolution, and council members Kyonzté Toombs and Jennifer Gamble abstained. Council members Zulfat Suara, Russ Bradford and Brandon Taylor were absent. The resolution asks for that evaluation to include individual site assessments at each MNPS school, along with a list of recommendations that should be implemented districtwide from capital improvements to professional training and "any human resources they see fit." The resolution also calls for MNPS to create a report that outlines its plans for adopting any recommendations in the evaluation, including a timeline for implementation and explanations for any recommendations the district declines to adopt. The resolution comes a month after a 17-year-old student armed with a pistol opened fire in the Antioch High School cafeteria, fatally wounding one 16-year-old student and injuring another before fatally shooting himself. The resolution had 18 co-sponsors including Courtney Johnston representing District 26, who said now is the time to ask law enforcement "safety experts" for their guidance. Johnston noted that Antioch High's attendance has dropped since students returned to classes nearly a week after the shooting. "It's time to have an open conversation about what technology is out there that we should be using, what human resources we should be using, what training we should be doing, how often should that training be occurring," Johnston said. But some council members who voted against the resolution said it implies that the school district and law enforcement don't already work to evaluate safety in Nashville's schools. One of them was At-Large Council Member Delishia Porterfield, who was a driver behind the push to establish Nashville's first Office of Youth Safety focused in part on youth conflict and gun violence prevention. "Ultimately, this does not address the unfettered access to guns, which is the real problem which we know that we are preempted on," Porterfield said. "It's easier to get a gun in the state of Tennessee than it is to register to vote or to get a cosmetology license." There has been at least one new safety measure implemented in some MNPS buildings in the past month. Evolv, a concealed weapon detection system, was installed as part of a pilot program when Antioch High resumed classes. The scanners use artificial intelligence and are similar to what visitors to an arena or stadium might pass through when attending an event. Last week, the MNPS board voted unanimously to approve installing Evolv not just at Antioch High but in all district high schools. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville Council calls for police review of school safety measures
Yahoo
15-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Nashville school board rightly expanded Evolv gun detection in all high schools
It was supposed to take a lot longer to reach widespread adoption of weapons detections systems in Metro Nashville Public Schools. During the Jan. 28 board meeting, just six days after the fatal shooting at Antioch High School, the board announced a pilot program for Evolv, the same security system used at Nissan Stadium. The Evolv screeners had already been installed at Antioch High, and Dr. Adrienne Battle, MNPS's director of schools, spoke to the relative smoothness of entry for students. Still, the district was going to monitor the system for 30 days before expanding its use. Then Leland Evans, an MNPS parent, stood to voice his concern. Evans had signed a post-shooting petition that pressed for metal detectors to be installed in all Metro schools, stood to voice his concern. And while remarking that he didn't have a child attending Antioch High, where the Evolv pilot program was launched, Evans also addressed what he saw as a general shirking of responsibility by MNPS leadership. Without a single acknowledgement of shared culpability, or missed opportunities to improve school-level safeguards, board members alternatively praised Battle for her response to the tragedy and shifted blame to state representatives for not passing the legislation that would keep all Tennesseans safe. "I couldn't help but listen to you all talk for over an hour,' Evans said, 'and have heard nothing to make me feel safe as a parent. We want solutions, and we're telling you what solution we want." It's unclear whether Battle and the board decided to pivot based on Evans's remarks, the concerns of the thousands of other people who also signed the petition, the frequency of gun possession incidents at MNPS schools, or the confluence of all factors. But pivot they did. At the Feb. 11 school board meeting, the board unanimously approved a measure to install the Evolv detection system in all district high schools. There has been a tendency to conflate the tragedy at Antioch High School with the rash of other school shootings that have been, unfortunately, sweeping the country. In many ways they are the same — resulting, ultimately, from a cultural affinity for/reliance on guns, and a failure/inability to keep said guns out of the hands of the most dangerous. But also, Antioch is different. Antioch wasn't the result of backpack-full-of-ammunition-wearing, assault-rifle-toting visitor who shot their way through the front door, blasting through all manner of security checkpoints as they immediately launched into their heavily artilleried attack. Solomon Henderson was a student at Antioch. He walked through the front door alongside his classmates. He passed through halls after sitting through his first, second, and third period classes. Presumably, he interacted with teachers as well as administrators along the way. It wasn't until lunch that Henderson's intentions for the day became clear. It wasn't until lunch that he pulled the undetected handgun from the bag he'd carried all morning long and began firing, injuring one student before killing Josselin Corea Escalante and himself. As I wrote after the incident, the fatal results of Henderson's actions may be unique in MNPS history, but the matter of him possessing a firearm on a school campus is not. Opinion: I went to Antioch High and love this community. Stop the post-shooting hate. Holding the state to task for its failure to pass common-sense gun laws may quiet the deafening echo of one gun possession charge after another (and another, and another). But they don't silence them completely. And at some point, Battle and company had to follow through on their responsibilities to students, and to those students' parents. Experts will say that the Evolv system, or standard metal detectors, can't guarantee safety or fully prevent the garden-variety style school shooting with which we've become so familiar. Those experts are right. And that's where those laws come in — where red flag legislation and the forbidden sale of military-style assault rifles can prevent a mass shooter from carrying one into The Covenant School on March 27, 2023. But gun laws won't keep kids from stealing legally owned firearms, whether from a stranger or their own parents. Even an emphasis on shifting the culture in the Black community — a point made by Robert Taylor, the newly elected board member representing District 1, with which I agree — can't ensure that some lone student won't still feel the need to strap up for English class. And in that case, the only remedy for students who hope to go to school in the morning and make it home safely later that afternoon is to keep those guns out of the building, the same way concert venues and football stadiums and courthouses and airports do. We tend to view public schools as a 'free' option, in that they don't charge a yearly tuition akin to private schools. But there is certainly a fee associated with public education, and it is paid through the taxes assessed on the local and state citizenry. Finally, MNPS leadership listened to its paying constituents, and they did what needed to be done. Andrea Williams is an opinion columnist for The Tennessean and curator of the Black Tennessee Voices initiative. She has an extensive background covering country music, sports, race and society. Email her at adwilliams@ or follow her on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @AndreaWillWrite and BlueSky at @ This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Antioch High gun detection system had to be expanded | Opinion
Yahoo
12-02-2025
- Yahoo
Nashville to install concealed weapon detection system in all public high schools
The Metro Nashville Public Schools board unanimously approved installing Evolv, a concealed weapon detection system, in all district high schools in the months to come. A pilot of the system was installed at Antioch High School as students returned to campus six days after a 17-year-old student fatally shot 16-year-old student Josselin Corea Escalante on Jan. 22 and wounded another student in the school cafeteria. The shooter then fatally shot himself. The decision to expand the system came at the end of roughly 90 minutes of board discussion and questions, along with comments from members of the public during the board's regular meeting Tuesday. Josselin Corea Escalante: Nashville community mourns Antioch High School shooting victim Evolv uses artificial intelligence to detect concealed weapons as people enter the school and is more specialized than a traditional metal detector, according to a presentation by MNPS Director Adrienne Battle. The system includes scanner panels similar to what patrons at a stadium or arena may pass through before an event. System Integrations, which owns Evolv, loaned a system to Antioch High for a monthlong pilot as students returned. Battle praised the smoothness of the system's rollout at Antioch High, which is the district's largest school. She said Evolv adds to existing safety measures like secured entryways, cameras, school resource officers and other measures across the district. "We know this isn't a perfect solution to every challenge we face when it comes to keeping our schools safe," Battle said. "It is meant to be a part of a multilayer approach to safety." Board Member Cheryl Mayes, whose district includes Antioch High, said she saw firsthand how Evolv worked as students returned. "The look on the faces of the students as they walked in the door that first day was a look of comfort more than anything else," Mayes said. "There was no anxiety." The board's approval expands the district's existing contract with System Integrations. The initial cost is estimated at around $1.25 million annually. Based on how rollout at the district's high schools goes, MNPS may seek more funding to install Evolv in middle and elementary schools, Battle said. On Tuesday, questions from board members revolved around the efficiency of the system for getting students and staff safely and quickly into schools, staffing needs to keep things running smoothly, future funding needed to maintain and expand the system and other logistical questions about how it all will work. Board member Berthena Nabaa-McKinney also implored the community to address the wider issue of gun violence that is spilling into schools. "We have got to work together as a community to address this," Nabaa-McKinney said. "It is a crisis. It is a pandemic." MNPS will begin the process of ordering and installing the systems into high schools in the weeks to come, with the goal of installing Evolv in two high schools per week. It was not immediately clear when the first installations would take place. Evolv is not the first weapon detection system installed on MNPS campuses. An AI-powered brandished weapon detection system known as Omnilert is installed on cameras across all MNPS campuses. However, the system failed to detect the shooter's gun during the Antioch High shooting — something a district spokesperson said was due to the location of the shooter and the weapon. However, the system did activate when police later entered the school with weapons drawn. The ordeal raised questions about the efficacy of the Omnilert system. More: AI failed to detect Antioch school shooter's gun. Why experts say the million-dollar system is flawed Evolv Technologies was also under scrutiny recently. It settled a case with the the Federal Trade Commission in November after the commission said the company made "misleading claims" that its AI screening system was more effective than traditional metal detectors. In its complaint, the FTC said the scanners failed in several cases to detect weapons in schools while flagging harmless personal items like binders and water bottles. As part of the FTC settlement, the company was required to give some school districts the option to cancel contracts signed between April 2022 and June 2023. The company also discontinued using the marketing materials flagged in the case. None of the three districts in Middle Tennessee already using Evolv chose to cancel their contracts. MNPS student board member Christine Tran also asked questions about Evolv's accuracy of weapon detection during the Tuesday meeting. Jill Lemond, a representative from Evolv, said she did not have a "perfect number" available. Instead, she pointed to the 10% of people entering Antioch High over the last few weeks who required a secondary screening. She also spoke about how the system's AI is constantly "learning" and improving through around 6,000 panels installed at locations worldwide. Reach children's reporter Rachel Wegner at RAwegner@ or follow her on Bluesky @RachelAnnWegner. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville schools to install weapon detection system in high schools
Yahoo
07-02-2025
- Yahoo
Nashville considers adding weapon detection system to all high schools
In the wake of a deadly shooting at Antioch High School last month, the Metro Nashville Public Schools board will consider installing a concealed weapons detection system into all district high schools. A 17-year-old student opened fire in the cafeteria at Antioch High on Jan. 22, fatally shooting 16-year-old student Josselin Corea Escalante and wounding another student. The shooter then fatally shot himself. The tragedy reignited a long-simmering debate over whether MNPS should install metal detectors. Less than a week after the shooting, Antioch High reopened with a new concealed weapons detection system in place known as Evolv. The system includes scanners at the entrance of the school similar to what patrons at a stadium or arena may pass through before an event. System Integrations, which owns Evovl, loaned a system to Antioch High for a monthlong pilot as students returned. "The system has proven to be an effective layer of security, helping detect weapons while maintaining a welcoming and efficient entry process for students," a Friday news release from the district said. 'We see you': Antioch High students return to school with protest, more security after deadly shooting The day of the shooting at Antioch High, a separate system designed to detect brandished weapons failed to pick up the shooter's gun. That system, known as Omnilert, is powered by artificial intelligence and installed on all security cameras across MNPS. District spokesperson Sean Braisted said the student's gun was not detected due to the location of the cameras and the position of the weapon. However, the system did detect the brandished weapons of police officers as they entered the school a short time later. MNPS Director Adrienne Battle said expanding Evolv is "an important step forward" and would take time to implement effectively to make sure the transition is smooth. "There is no single solution to ending gun violence, a national epidemic that affects all parts of society, with access to weapons often going unchecked. However, we remain committed to doing what we can to protect our students and staff in our schools," Battle said in the release. More: Antioch High School's AI weapon detection system failed to detect student's gun before deadly shooting The proposed expansion will go before the MNPS board during its regular meeting Tuesday. It would amend the district's current contract with System Integrations to lease and install the systems on high school campuses district-wide. A preliminary estimate showed the expansion would cost $1.25 million annually, according to the release. The proposal includes a plan to gradually deploy the systems to MNPS high schools in the coming weeks and month to work out efficient entry flow designs, train staff and educate students. While the overall cost may change, it will be up to the district to work out how to secure funding for the systems, if approved. Nashville Mayor Freddie O'Connell reiterated his call for stronger policies to prevent gun violence, but also acknowledged the proposal as a necessary step to address threats to school safety. "I regret that we live in a time when schools must invest in weapons detection systems to keep students safe," O'Connell said in the release. "The reality is that meaningful gun safety measures by state and national leaders have remained out of reach, and we cannot wait for change that may never come." MNPS Board Chair Freda Player also expressed her support for the expansion, saying it is part of a broader effort to train security personnel, secure access to schools and prepare for emergencies. "As a school board, we are committed to providing the tools and resources needed to protect our students against another tragic situation like we experienced at Antioch High," Player said in the release. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville schools: Weapon detection system may expand to all HS campuses
