Queens High School Implements Metal Detectors After Foiled Shooting Plot

New Security Measures at Benjamin Cardozo High School

• 🚨 Benjamin Cardozo High School in Bayside, Queens, implemented metal detectors and increased police presence on Friday.
• 🎯 This follows the arrest of a 16-year-old student accused of planning a shooting plot at the school.
• 🔑 The student faces charges including criminal possession of a weapon and making terroristic threats.

Student and Security Officer Perspectives

• 💡 A senior student expressed that scanners should have been in place before such an incident occurred, questioning the timing and priorities.
• 🗣️ The student also noted a focus on phone confiscation over weapon detection, suggesting a misaligned priority.
• 📉 The president of the union representing school safety officers stated that the city budget has led to a shortage of over 2500 officers, impacting the ability to operate more scanners.

School Security Protocols and Statistics

• 📅 The Department of Education indicated that the use of scanners and metal detectors is managed by the NYPD school safety division, with protocols established in 2016 that have not been updated.
• 📊 Currently, only 84 out of 1,200 middle and high schools in the city have permanent scanning equipment.
• 🚫 Officials from the Department of Education and the NYPD declined to be interviewed.

Legal Proceedings

• ⚖️ The defendant, from Springfield Gardens, was arraigned in Queens criminal court as a minor.
• 🗓️ The student is scheduled to return to court next Friday and faces up to four years in prison if granted youthful status.