NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — For many in Nashville, the Georgia shooting is a stark reminder of the Covenant School massacre.
The question then as it is now: What can be done to stop such violence?
A security expert who works with schools says there is something that can be done right now to make students safer.
You need look no further than Nissan Stadium — the home of the Titans.
"Can you imagine if a gun went off in a Titans game with 55,000 people," asks Moose Moore, a security expert with the Vigilance Group.
The Titans have taken steps hoping to make sure that never happens. Fans are allowed only clear plastic bags and must enter the stadium through metal detectors.
Moore, who has consulted on school security here in Middle Tennessee, said it's time schools do the same.
"I would say parents call your school board," said Moore. "It's a pain and it takes time, but what price do you pay on a child's life?"
In Georgia, the student shooter managed to get an AR-type rifle into Apalachee High School.
That's a long gun.
"But they break down, they can go into backpacks," explained Moore.
He knows that at Covenant School in Nashville a former student stormed in through the front and started shooting.
But he says the majority of school shootings involve current students who smuggle guns into schools and like the case in Georgia, hide the weapon until the shooter decides to attack.
Moore says there is a way to stop that.
"Starting today or next Monday every child that brings a backpack has to be clear period. It has to be clear. If you don't have a clear backpack then you don't bring a backpack. If you have a duffle it stays outside the school until it can be inspected."
Moore said the transparency should apply even to sack lunches.
Sure, it's an inconvenience.
But clear backpacks or bags are now readily available, not costly and no one is going to hide a gun in one of those.
Several school districts are now considering clear bag policies and well as adding metal detectors at entry ways.
And there is federal safety grant money available to help cover some of the costs.
Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at nick.beres@newschannel5.com
Forrest Sanders recently introduced us to a Nashville hero named Eudora Boxley. She was the first black woman to have a cooking show on TV in Nashville. Her grandson was precious describing Eudora and how she raised him and how proud he and the family were of her impact not only on WLAC but on a city during the turbulent Civil Rights Era. A woman who did extraordinary things at a time when history did not expect her to.
-Amy Watson
