SALEM Ore. (KPTV) – Salem-Keizer Public Schools will be the first district in Oregon to install a gun detection system at the entrance of every high school.

Gunfire has been reported 178 times on school grounds in the U.S. this year, killing 52 people, according to Everytown Research, which tracks gun violence in schools.

Kaiden Armstead is a senior at McKay High School.

“This is an era where gun violence is one of the leading causes of death among young people,” Armstead said. “It definitely creates a sense of fear in young people going to school.”

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That’s why the school is installing gun detection systems at all high schools this year, according to district superintendent Andrea Castaneda.

“Even though the decision is controversial, we are being brave and responsible,” Castaneda said.

Castaneda said he felt it was the district’s responsibility to act preventatively.

Half of the students and three-quarters of the staff say they feel safer after the pilot program was implemented at South Salem High School last spring.

Sofia Castellanos is a senior at South Salem.

“I would rather be stopped because my umbrella covered the metal detector than to have a gun enter a school and not be caught,” Castellanos said.

Castellanos said his class was skeptical at first.

“It was really about people complaining about something new,” Castellanos said.

But it has now become a routine part of his day, and his interactions with security are enjoyable, he said.

“’Can you open the pockets of your backpack?’ Then they dig a little bit and that’s it,” Castellanos said.

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Superintendent Castaneda said the cost will likely be more than $1.5 million, half of which will be paid by a fund to reduce e-cigarette use. Since March, the detection system has led to e-cigarettes being found and confiscated from students along with knives, he said.

McKay student Armstead said he feels gun detection is necessary and critical in 2024.

“Every day, as I walk the halls, I hear conversations about how students want weapons detection systems,” Armstead said. “There were times when I felt more insecure while I was at school.”

Superintendent Castaneda said the district will monitor feedback from the new systems, but expansion to middle schools is likely next year.

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