PITTSTON, Pa. — The Pittston Area School District is preparing for a day they hope never comes.
"Well, unfortunately, in the world we live in, school shootings happen all the time, and you never know when and time is of the essence," said Superintendent Kevin Booth.
The district bought four rifles and four shotguns; each school received one of each.
The guns are locked up in a safe at a secure location in school buildings, and very few people have access to them.
"It's an evil necessity that has to be in schools, but it is also something that we need. So I mean, it is here, and hopefully, I never have to use it, but it's great to know that it's here in the building," said school resource officer Tom Kelly.
"So to have these weapons on hand for our trained police officer eliminates a time constraint in getting police officers here," explained Booth.
Resource officer Tom Kelly says officers are already armed with pistols on a daily basis.
But pistols have limitations if put up against an intruder with semi-automatic weapons.
"Every weapon is designed specifically for a purpose. Handguns are portable and easy to carry, but at a distance, they are not as accurate as a rifle or a long gun, so the AR is a very accurate weapon," said Kelly.
In a world where the thoughts of how to make schools safer never stop, Pittston area hopes they never have to open the safe.
"The message we are trying to drive home to parents is that we're doing the best job that we can to keep your children safe," said Booth.
For extra safety measures, the school district is also working to add alarms to doors, which would alert security if the door was open for too long.
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