Homer schools locked down over parent carrying gun

Safiya Merchant , Trace Christenson | Battle Creek Enquirer

HOMER - A hard lockdown was ordered Monday in Homer school buildings after a parent came to school with a holstered handgun, officials said.

Homer Community School District Superintendent Robert Wright said the parent had brought a gun to school on Friday and was armed again when he returned to the school Monday to discuss Friday's incident.

The parent of a student at Lillian Fletcher Elementary School, who Wright declined to identify, came to school Friday to sign in his son,. The man was carrying a gun in a holster. Wright said the parent was questioned by a staff member; the parent asserted "his right to have it there" and he left the school without a confrontation, Wright said.

After the Friday incident, district officials spoke with the Calhoun County Sheriff Department, whose deputies interviewed the parent, "trying to convince him that it's not a good thing -- even though it might be one of his rights, doesn't mean it's the right thing to do," Wright said.

On Monday, district officials met with Sheriff Matt Saxton and one of his recommendations was to meet with the parent to reach an understanding.

Although the parent was receptive and showed up to the school for the meeting with Wright, he brought a holstered gun again.

"And lo and behold, he showed up with his weapon holstered ... it was never out of the holster," Wright said. "And at that point I had to inform him that our protocol is that we go into lockdown just for pure safety of all of our students and staff, and so we went into lockdown at that point."

"They asked him to sit in the front lobby and they went into lockdown," Saxton said. "He left when he heard them go into lockdown."

Wright said the district went under hard lockdown -- he described it as a time when instruction is halted to focus on safety precautions -- for about 10 minutes at 2:15 p.m. A sheriff's deputy was called to the school but the parent left before the deputy arrived.

Wright said parents were notified of the Monday incident. He said the parent had no contact with students at any point and that the situation was non-confrontational.

Wright said it's a violation of district policy to have any weapons on its school grounds, but Saxton said Monday that Michigan law allows a person with a valid concealed pistol license to open carry a weapon.

"But we advised the school to continue with their policy -- if they have a weapon on campus to lock down until it is secure and that they can ensure that students and teachers are not in danger," Saxton said. "You just don't know and time is of the essence in an active shooter situation."

Saxton said school officials and law enforcement have to be cautious even though they have not had any incident involving a person with a concealed pistol permit.

"You just don't know the mindset of the person coming in -- even though we have not had an assaultive crime of a person with a CPL holding in Calhoun County -- but the school doesn't know and they are trained to go into lockdown," Saxton said.

Saxton said Calhoun County Prosecutor David Gilbert has said he would consider charges of being a disorderly person if lockdowns were ordered by schools when a person openly carried a weapon.

"He said if they were disrupting the school day he would charge them with creating a disturbance," Saxton said. "We will forward a report on the incident to the prosecutor Tuesday for review."

"We want to respect the right to bear arms but at the same time, I have a duty and an obligation to protect the students and the staff that are here," Wright said. "We don't want weapons on campus."

"This is something that needs to be taken care of in Lansing, one way or the other," Saxton said. "The vast majority of CPL holders are law-abiding citizens and they don't want to carry concealed in the school because they know it is a violation of the law. I have been supportive of the CPL law but I am also supportive of kids getting a good education in a safe and secure school."

Contact Safiya Merchant at 269-966-0684 or smerchant@battlecreekenquirer.com. Follow her on Twitter: @SafiyaMerchant