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Looking for solutions to Las Vegas school gun problems

7th gun recovered on CCSD campus Wednesday
Looking for solutions to Vegas school gun trend
Looking for solutions to Vegas school gun trend
Looking for solutions to Vegas school gun trend
Posted at 10:09 PM, Sep 19, 2018
and last updated 2018-09-20 02:28:45-04

As parents learned an elementary school student was the 7th person caught with a gun on a Clark County School District campus in the 2018 school year, civic leaders are putting the finishing touches on an event aimed at combating the problem.

CCSD School Police said the 9-year-old boy brought a .22 caliber handgun to Helen Smith Elementary School on Wednesday, but no one was injured.

"The first thing that comes to your mind is, How can you protect your kids," Samantha Johnson%INLINE% said about the letter sent home with her son notifying her of the gun scare.  "Hopefully it has the school bring some new safety measurements."

The Smith Elementary scare was just the latest of 7 incidents this school year where students have been caught with guns on CCSD campuses.  There was also an 18-year-old student shot and killed on the edge of the Canyon Springs High School campus last week.

While the event has been in the works for months, Pastor Troy Martinez says a public meeting to discuss violence and guns on school campuses has taken on added importance because of the recent trend.

"We are seeing students on a weekly basis with guns at school," Martinez said.

The public event scheduled for 4:30 p.m. Thursday at Las Vegas City Hall will feature Darrell Scott, the father of Rachel Scoot who was the first victim of the Columbine School Shooting.

"One of the things we want to do is make sure we are listening to every idea, every thought.  That we are thinking outside the box.  We want to be creative," Martinez said. "The school district can not do it alone.  It needs the community, the principal, the pastor, the parents the police everybody partnering together."