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Baker neighbors want to know who is keeping them safe after two shootings in 48 hours
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BAKER - After gunshots rang out twice in one week, neighbors surrounding Baker High School want answers to what's being done to protect their safety.
The campus was practically empty Thursday morning. On Monday, police took one person into custody after shots rang out during football practice. On Wednesday morning, a summer school student was shot, prompting school leaders to move to virtual learning and suspend on-campus extracurricular activities indefinitely.
Manuel Scott lives behind Baker High School and said he heard the shots from inside his home.
"We were watching TV, and we heard pow, pow, pow, pow," Scott said.
Preston Castille, president and CEO of Helix Community Schools, said the shooter was not someone on campus, but fired onto school grounds from the outside.
Following Monday's shooting, Police Chief Carl Dunn said a school resource officer would be on campus while students were present. On Wednesday, Dunn said the SRO left with the football team that morning, before the second shooting happened.
Castille said he was not aware the officer had left campus before the Wednesday shooting and learned about it during a press conference on Wednesday. Nearly all students were inside the main building at the front of campus at the time, while the student who was shot was at the back of campus.
"I know there are families out there who are worried. I would be worried," Castille said at the time. "There is nothing more tragic in the city, state or country than children killing children, and the fact that it's made its way to Baker is disturbing. It's alarming, and I think what we're all dealing with is an epidemic."
During the regular school year, three to four officers are normally stationed at the school. Because it is summer, the security force is lower. Castille said mental health services are available for students and staff at Baker High School.
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