“The system worked how it was supposed to,” said Elk City Superintendent Mike Sparks.
Sparks was referencing an incident that happened last Monday morning that was picked up by statewide news about a student allegedly bringing a firearm into the school.
Sparks said school officials first sprung into action near lunchtime as he and the school’s principals were completing their daily meeting.
“We had just finished our meeting when we all received an anonymous tip that came in through our STOP IT app, so immediately I knew, our principals knew, and our school resource officers knew,” Sparks recounted.
Sparks stated that the school district uses the smartphone app to give students a safe way to report possible dangerous activity.
“We ask these students to say something if they see something,” Sparks advised. “We have worked with students, teachers, and parents on this. Anytime that they are concerned, we would rather know than not know. While the tip remains anonymous to us, the reporting student did exactly what they have been taught.”
Sparks estimated that the school’s SROs had located the student and firearm in question within ten to fifteen minutes.
“Our SROs were on the scene immediately. At most, fifteen minutes had passed before they were removing the student from the school,” Sparks remembered.
The gun in question was found in pieces in a bathroom trashcan. SROs also acted promptly to ensure that the student had only brought one gun and that no other students were involved.
Sparks said that the Elk City High School was put on lockdown more out of precaution and to quickly and safely end the situation than fear that a shooting would break out.
“We were getting close to the lunch hour and changing classes,” Sparks said. “Our SROs had already identified the student. They had found the gun. We wanted him to stay where he was to minimize any confusion. Again, everything worked how it was supposed to.”
The Elk City Public Schools and the Elk City Police Department promptly released information about the situation to parents and social media.
While that system efficiently informed parents and the public about the situation, rumors began on social media that Sparks said have proved unfounded.
“There were things like a ‘hit list’ of students or bullets in the toilet that we have not found any truth to,” Sparks said.
For that reason, he released a second statement included in this report.
In it, Sparks detailed that, along with being superintendent, his wife teaches at Elk City Public Schools, and his children attend school there.
“This is not unique to me,” Sparks said. “So many of our teachers have spouses and kids in our school. Of course, professionally, we always want a quick and safe resolution to these types of situations. But, in places like Elk City, we also have our loved ones here. My family never hesitated to move to Elk City. This is a wonderful community, and we witnessed all the best parts of it come into action last week.”
