Three Lewiston schools will soon have rifles stored in safes on school property, according to Lewiston Independent School District Bob Donaldson.
Lewiston Police Department has resource officers placed at Lewiston High School, Sacajawea Junior High School and Jenifer Junior High School, Donaldson said. The officers attended a prior school board meeting and presented information related to storing rifles in their offices.
“The rationale they presented was – with all of the active shooter training they go through – the rifle would be the weapon of choice if they were dealing with an active shooter, primarily because of its accuracy,” Donaldson said.
Donaldson added that this decision will positively impact officers’ response time in the event of an active shooter situation, as the rifles were previously located in the officers’ patrol cars.
Resources officers will bring the rifles onto school property in a carrying case before storing them in highly-secure safes that only the officers can access.
The school district is coordinating the purchase of safes with Lewiston Police Department and maintenance staff will secure them in the offices.