Concealed carry is coming to Oklahoma classrooms this November.
Wilson Public Schools is moving forward with a program to combat Sandy Hook-type shootings with armed staff members, a local CBS affiliate reported. The program was announced by district officials Sept. 8.
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"In today's world with things that are happening, you have to do whatever you can to protect your school district and the children who come to school here, and that's what we are doing," said Eric Smith, Wilson superintendent, the station reported.
Six staff members will be permitted to carry personal firearms in hallways and classrooms after completing a 120-hour course.
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While the district is paying for the classes, staffers must purchase their own firearms and ammunition, the station reported.
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The decision by Oklahoma's lawmakers comes in response to mass shootings like those at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, in 2012, and the Columbine High School massacre in Littleton, Colorado, in 1999.
On Dec. 14, 2012, Adam Lanza, 20, shot and killed 20 first-graders and six adults.
On on April 20, 1999, Dylan Klebold, 17, and Eric Harris, 18, killed 13 in a similar rampage.
All three shooters committed suicide.