By Craig Anderson

This story has been updated.

DOVER — A flurry of recent weapons-related arrests involving students on school properties have certainly been troubling for administrators, parents and law enforcement.

The latest came Tuesday, when a 15-year-old Sussex Central High School student was arrested after a report of gunfire and multiple shell casings were found outside of the school in Georgetown, Delaware State Police said. No injuries were reported.

The teen was charged with five felonies, including possession of a firearm in a safe school zone. He was committed to the Stevenson House Detention Center in Milford on an $82,000 secured bond.

The incident joined 332 other arrests made at schools by state police during the 2023-24 year, as of Feb. 20, compared to 341 in all of 2022-23.

There were 40 felony arrests made last year and 25 so far this year.

Spokesman Cpl./3 Lewis Briggs noted that those numbers include both students and adults arrested on school grounds at all times of the day. For example, a Friday night fight among adults at a football game yielding multiple charges would add to the statistics.

No information differentiating students’ and adults’ cases was available, he said.

The three most frequent causes of school arrests this year have been possession of marijuana (69), disorderly conduct (65) and third-degree assault (54), DSP noted.

Other recent episodes involving students arrested on felony charges include:

• On Feb. 20, a 15-year-old Dover High student was arrested after wounding a 17-year-old with a pocketknife during a fight, Dover police said. A laceration to the student’s arm was non-life-threatening. The teen was charged with second-degree assault and carrying a concealed deadly weapon in a safe school zone before being turned over to a guardian.
• On Feb. 6, a 17-year-old Caesar Rodney High student was arrested after two kitchen knives were discovered in his backpack, troopers said. The student was removed from the school in Camden and turned over to a parent. No threats were made, and no one was harmed. The teen was charged with two counts of carrying a concealed deadly weapon.
• A 12-year-old George Read Middle School student was arrested for felony assault after an altercation Feb. 5 left an 11-year-old student with an injury to the face, state police said. The New Castle student was later charged with second-degree assault and other offenses, and released to a guardian on an $8,000 unsecured bond.
• An 18-year-old student at Indian River High in Dagsboro was arrested after two folding knives were located in his backpack Jan. 24, state police reported. No threats were made, and no one was hurt. The teen was removed from the school and turned over to a parent. He was charged with possession of a weapon in a safe school zone and released after posting a $2,001 secured bond.
• At The John Dickinson School in Wilmington, a 16-year-old was found in possession of a gun Jan. 24, state police said. There were no threats made toward students or staff, and the school day proceeded normally. The juvenile was charged with possession of a firearm in a safe school zone and other felonies. He was committed to the Ferris School on a $12,000 cash bond.
• Two Cape Henlopen High students, ages 15 and 17, were arrested after a firearm was located at the Lewes school Jan. 17, authorities said. Both were charged with possession of a firearm in a safe school zone and other offenses. The older student was committed to the Stevenson House on a $10,000 secured bond, while the 15-year-old was released to a guardian on a $2,500 unsecured bond.

On the rise

Such cases have risen steadily the past five academic years, with state police reporting 233 arrests made in 2018-19, 235 in 2019-20 and 260 in 2021-22.

While the increase is concerning, Cpl. Briggs noted a strong partnership between school resource officers and staff when responding to trouble. He lauded employees for providing information that aids investigations and brings arrests.

State police utilizes 24 school resource officers in New Castle County, seven in Sussex and three in Kent. Meanwhile, other districts employ municipal officers, including Georgetown, Smyrna and Dover.

Dover police spokesman Master Cpl. Ryan Schmid said situations like the knife incident at Dover High aren’t frequent.

“As far as weapons go, it is very rare for a weapon to (be) found on a Capital School District campus, (but) schools nationwide are facing an issue with fighting among students,” he noted.

Dover Master Cpl. Terrence Knight, a school resource officer at the alternative-placement Parkway Academy Central, concurred.

“Arrests are up marginally and are mostly geared toward fighting,” he said. “That’s not a Dover thing; it’s nationwide.”

Regarding such fights, “we try to do everything we can not to make an arrest,” Cpl. Knight added. “If there’s an injury involved, then we have to make an arrest but try to mediate among students otherwise, contact parents and try to find a positive solution.”

There are five officers from the Dover Police Department in schools, including four in the Capital School District and another who works as a liaison for four private facilities.

The officers use mediation and de-escalation techniques as effective ways to tamp down a confrontation, along with restorative approaches, Cpl. Schmid said.

“Our SROs do a great job mentoring and forming a relationship with their students,” he said. “Oftentimes, students can come to our SROs and talk about an issue they are having with someone and avoid a conflict or violent-involved behavior before it occurs.”

In the Smyrna School District, the number of major incidents involving violence this school year is significantly lower than the previous three.

District officials said there have been instances of students possessing knives and that altercations are the most prevalent type of violent act.

But the district hopes to add constables to its buildings via an upcoming referendum, after hearing an overwhelming volume of requests from staff and community members. A recent survey showed 88% supported such staffing.

Presently, there’s one constable at Smyrna High, while the Smyrna Police Department provides two full-time school resource officers, and Clayton police adds one part-time officer.

Social workers have also been hired at three Smyrna schools to increase mental health resources and clinical supports.

Meanwhile, district administrators have identified some root causes that exacerbate school violence, such as social media, mental health needs, concerns about social skills and problem solving following the pandemic, and overcrowding.

‘Top priority’

For its part, the Delaware Department of Education noted that safety is a leading concern. A statement through spokesperson Alison May read, “School safety is one of the top priorities for state and school leaders across Delaware. These issues are multi-faceted and complex. Department of Education is working closely with Delaware Emergency Management Agency in supporting school leaders around the implementation of the Comprehensive School Safety Plan.

“Schools across the state are implementing a number of different strategies to enhance security measures and build a culture of safety.”

DEMA director A.J. Schall added that schools “face a myriad of threats. Some threats have a low impact and occur frequently, while others occur infrequently but would have a catastrophic impact. These threats and their impacts differ from school to school and district to district across the state, so the (school safety plan) takes an all-hazards approach to ensure schools can internally prepare, respond and recover from anything they face, instead of focusing only on a few priorities.”

Mr. Schall said his agency helps school administrators write emergency plans covering situations from power outages to violence, while also supplying resources to properly test the plans.

“In addition, they provide feedback on the construction of new school buildings, environmental design factors and standardized staff training for critical incident response and reunification.”

The program, he said, “has also provided a Safety and Wellness Suite available to all districts, that aims to prevent, deter and mitigate problems by offering mental health resources, anonymous reporting, standardized behavioral assessment tools and comprehensive case management.”

“Through this layered approach, DEMA aims to help schools address the safety concerns they feel are most prevalent and make them more resilient to any issues that may arise.”