Case High School parents urge use of metal detectors after stabbing led to soft lockdown

RACINE, Wis. (CBS 58) — Some parents and students in the Racine School District are expressing concerns after a stabbing incident led to a soft lockdown at Case High School Tuesday afternoon.

Around 1:10 p.m. the Mount Pleasant Police Department responded to a stabbing at the high school. The victim, 16 years old was stabbed in the back by a 15-year-old student. 

The perpetrator was immediately apprehended by police and taken into custody. Police said the stabbing was a random incident and the knife used was brought from home.

“My son texted me right away and said, ‘Mom, there was a boy stabbed in his back at school today.’ My initial reaction was like, ‘What? Are you OK? Where are you?'” said Alicia Ramirez, mother of a student from Case High School.

Ramirez, who is the president of the Parent Teacher Student Association, said she and other parents have been concerned for the safety of their children at Case High School in the last year. She said she’s noticed violence increase.

In a school board meeting last month, Ramirez said she and her peers suggested the Racine Unified School District use already-existing metal detectors on a regular basis.

” As of today, the only thing that has been done is the metal detectors have been used for one day,” said Ramirez.

She believes implementing the metal detectors every day can help keep dangerous weapons from entering school grounds.

In a statemen, Stacy Tapp of the Racine Unified School District said:

“We understand and share the concerns of our families. As a first priority, the District is working to increase the regularity of scanners/metal detector use. While we already have many safety practices and procedures in place, we continue to collaborate with local law enforcement to seek out new and alternative approaches to ensure every student and staff member feels our schools are safe and positive environments every single day. Safety is a community-wide issue and we are committed to working together to find solutions.”