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Baker High football practice returns to field under with police presence after back-to-back shootings
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BAKER — Football players at Baker High School returned to in-person practice for the first time since two shootings on two separate days shut down campus activities about three weeks ago.
The first shooting happened while the football team was practicing on the field. A shooter fired toward the field as players were there.
Two days later, a summer school student was shot while leaving campus. That prompted school officials to suspend all in-person activities and move summer school online.
At the time of the first shooting, Baker's police chief said one officer would be stationed in the area during football practices.
When practice resumed, multiple Baker Police officers were visible on campus.
Preston Castille, President and CEO of Helix Community Schools, said the increased presence makes a difference. When school starts in the fall, the Baker Police Department, East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Deputies and a private security firm will patrol campus.
"I think it's safer because we happen to have three units on today,” he said.
At the time of both shootings, Castille says about thirty students were on campus for summer school. Castille also addressed the broader impact of the situation, the fact that one child tried to kill another. He says stopping future incidents requires more community involvement.
"All of our schools in this community are impacted when one of our schools is impacted," Castille said.
Active shooting expert Willie Brooks said officers need to be present.
"I know it's hard to have officers on campus, but we have to do it for the safety of our children," Brooks said.
Brooks said student safety remains the top priority.
"We need to make sure that officers are present and that people know their children are safe," he said.
When the shootings happened, police said someone had been detained but not arrested. The Baker Police Department had not responded to WBRZ's call asking whether an arrest had been made since.
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