The Associated Press
BAILEY, Colo.- Three weeks after a gunman invaded a high school and killed a 16-year-old girl, school district officials said Tuesday they will spend an extra $100,000 for stepped-up patrols for the rest of the academic year.
The Platte Canyon school board also intends to pursue grants for security guards, surveillance cameras and other technology and for long-term mental health needs in the aftermath of a standoff that left student Emily Keyes and gunman Duane Morrison dead.
Sheriff’s deputies will patrol the grounds, entrances and parking lots at the district’s three schools during the school day and during night and weekend events, officials said. The district will use its contingency funds to pay for the patrols.
Before the shooting, Platte Canyon High School had a sheriff’s deputy on campus, but he had been called away to work on a case when Morrison walked into the building, officials said.
Morrison barricaded himself and six girls in a room at the high school on Sept. 27. He molested them but let four girls go before breaking off negotiations.
A SWAT team used explosives to enter through the room’s single door. One girl escaped but Morrison shot Keyes as she tried to run. She died at a hospital in Denver, about 40 miles northeast of Bailey.
Morrison was hit by three shots fired by SWAT officers, but a preliminary autopsy indicated he died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, officials said.