October 6, 2021
Dear MLK Parents,
As we continue to prioritize the safety of our students, our goal is to communicate with parents about any safety issues that may arise. As a result, we wanted to make you aware of two incidents that occurred today, one of them resulting in a school shelter-in-place.
Earlier this morning, our administrators received a tip that a student was attempting to bring a weapon on campus. Our security staff moved quickly, adhering to the stringent measures we have in place to safeguard our students and staff. Due to the swift attention to the matter, the student was apprehended by Memphis Police Department before he was able to enter the building. At this time, the matter is being handled by MPD.
In a separate, non-related incident later in the day, MPD received a tip that an individual was on the way to the school with a weapon. As a precautionary measure, our school was placed on a brief shelter-in-place. We sent out an alert informing our families of the situation.
After thoroughly checking the building, MPD found no security threat. The shelter-in-place was lifted and students were able to dismiss safely. Thank you for your patience during this time as we took these measures to ensure the safety of our students.
Any incident involving the potential of a weapon on campus is a concern for us all. We also understand that this concern may be heightened after the incident that occurred near our campus, Monday. As a reminder—following that incident, the Memphis Police Department has worked with our security team to provide an additional layer of support during school arrival and dismissal. This is in addition to the safety measures that were already in place to safeguard our students and staff: a trained school resource officer, strict security checks upon entering the building, and the use of surveillance cameras throughout the school.
These measures along with our faculty and staff remaining vigilant are all to uphold our commitment to our families: to provide a safe learning environment for our students. Please know, we do not take issues like this lightly, and will always put safety at the forefront.
If you have any questions and/or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to the school principal, Dr. Rodney Peterson at 901.567.9224 or Rodney.peterson@fraysercs.org.