Jackson-Madison Co. officials, school leaders react to Kentucky school shooting

JACKSON, Tenn. — A Tuesday morning shooting at a Kentucky high school left two students dead and more than a dozen others injured.

Law enforcement officials and school administrators do everything possible to prevent these types of incidents.

“I think that all things are on the table. When you’re talking about student safety, I don’t think you turn a blind eye to anything,” said Corey Currie, supervisor of pupil services with the Jackson-Madison County School System.

Although the motive of the shooting is still unknown, Currie says you can never know what a student may be going through personally.

“We do understand that there are students that are facing some serious issues in their lives,” Currie said. “We’re thankful for our partnerships in the community, within my department. We have three crisis counselors — one for middle, elementary and one for high school — that meets with these students on a regular.”

Madison County Sheriff John Mehr says parents and the school need to work together in reporting any unusual signs to prevent violent crimes like this one.

“If they see or they hear any information about something that may happen, report it,” Sheriff Mehr said. “Don’t hold on it. Lots of times we see after the fact that there were signs all the way.”

In light of this situation, Sheriff Mehr says both the community and the sheriff’s department need to work together to keep students safe.

“It’s not going to offend us if somebody calls in and says ‘Hey, I saw something unusual’ or ‘I head something. You need to know about it,’ because that’s being proactive,” Sheriff Mehr said.

Lt. Allen Castleman of the Madison County Sheriff’s Office says school resource officers perform security checks at schools daily, but he says communication between the two departments and students can help with the prevention of any type of violent act in school.