Extra security measures have been added at DuVal High School in Lanham, Maryland, two days after a 16-year-old girl was shot and killed as she walked home.
Principal Pamela Smith sent an email to families Tuesday evening about the new process, which includes students walking through a weapons detection system as they enter the school.
"Patience will be needed from everyone as we work to implement this new process," Smith wrote.
On the first day of the new measures, there was a line of students outside the door. They now have to hand over their laptops and have their bags checked so they do not set off alarms.
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All high schools in Prince Georges County are expected to get weapons detectors by January. The school district's new superintendent, Millard House II, spoke about adding the enhanced security measures at DuVal during a news conference Monday night.
“The school was in the next phase, which would have been in the next couple of months. But we are actually going to move that up, to ensure that this community feels the kind of safety that we know it wants,” House said.
Sixteen-year-old Jayda Medrano-Moore from Greenbelt was shot while leaving school with her brother at about 3:30 p.m. Monday. Police do not believe she was the target.
Her father, Glendon Reid, told News4 that his daughter was walking with her brother after school when they ran into a group that got into a dispute with her brother. Jayda tried to intervene and was shot, her father said.
The shooting prompted the lockdown of DuVal and nearby Robert Goddard Montessori School for almost two hours.
He described his daughter as a humble, bright student who wanted to play pro basketball.
“Jayda, we love you,” Reid previously said. “If you can hear us right now, we love you. One day we’re going to meet each other soon in heaven, and I’m just … we’re going to deeply miss her.”
A Prince George's County police message board outside of the school asks for tips in the case. Police are offering a $25,000 reward for any information leading to an arrest.
