CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The president of the Kanawha County Board of Education praised all involved in the response to last week’s school shooting hoax at South Charleston High School.
Tracy White said at Thursday evening’s school board meeting that she wanted to publicly thank the City of South Charleston, other police agencies, all first responders, students, faculty and staff on how they responded when the call came in that there was an active shooter at the school on the morning of Dec. 7.
“Those kids are our kids and the people in that building are our family and we don’t ever want to be in a situation where we think that something is happening. But what happened last week shows our system works,” White said.
A man identifying himself as Alex Edwards told Metro 911 dispatchers that an active shooting was underway and that several students had already been shot. Kanawha County wasn’t the only county to receive a call. There were a total of 19 hoax threats in 17 West Virginia counties that day. Such calls are described as swatting in hopes of drawing a large police response. The investigation has been turned over to the FBI.
White said she was impressed with how quickly armed officers entered South Charleston High.
“It shows that our law enforcement is very reactive, there is no hesitation and if something happens in our schools then we know that everything possible to save our students and our staff will be done,” White said.
Kanawha County School Superintendent Tom Williams told the school board police and others involved in the response met Thursday at Kanawha County Metro 911 to review their actions.
“They had a three-hour meeting going through everything, ‘What can we do different next time? How should we have we done this?’” Williams said. “I can’t say enough about our law enforcement and what they’re doing to keep us all safe.”
White praised Kanawha County Schools Executive Director of Security Keith Vititoe for his work in preparing the system.
“I wish every county had a Keith Vititoe that’s what I wish,” White said, her comments drawing applause.
White said she knows the county will stay vigilant in its efforts to keep schools safe.
“Last week was very scary. Last week could have not been a prank and I for one am glad that our kids are in the best hands possible,” White said.