Unintentional Gunfire by School Resource Officer at Oxford Middle School Puts Already Devastated Community in Fear for Students’ Safety

Nine months after the deadly shooting at Oxford High School, another gun incident shows that cops in schools do more harm than good.

Oxford, MI — On Monday, October 3rd, a school resource officer at Oxford Middle School unintentionally fired his gun while using a single-stall bathroom. While no one was injured, it makes clear the risks of having firearms on campus and has left students distraught and outraged. Less than a year after the shooting at Oxford High School that left four students dead and seven others injured, the incident highlights the risk the district is placing kids under by increasing the number of guns on campus as it hires more SROs.

With 28 years of experience in law enforcement, the officer carelessly hung his weapon on the hook of the bathroom door, causing it to fire a shot into the cement ceiling. It highlights the extreme risk of accidents whenever firearms are present and underscore the risk of having any firearm on campus—even for armed guards. In fact, accidental shootings account for hundreds of deaths each year in the US and many more accidents. Time and time again, we see that armed officers on campus don’t mitigate risks to students—at best, they respond too late to violence already happening, and at worst can cause harm to students with their own firearms.

“It’s like a slap to the face,” said Aubrey Greenfield, a senior at Oxford High School and March For Our Lives’ Oakland County Executive Board Member. “I want my friends and I to go to school without the fear of being shot, but seeing shooting after shooting, both in Oxford and across the country, leaves us scared for our lives. If the intent is for SROs to make us feel safer, it isn’t working. The SRO at my school didn’t stop four of my classmates from being killed, nor did they in Parkland, Uvalde, and dozens of other schools across America.”

“The shooting last November left the entire Oxford community reeling with anxiety, depression, PTSD, and overwhelming grief,” said Zoe Touray, a recent graduate of Oxford High School and youth member of March For Our Lives. “Survivors, like myself, are faced with constant reminders of their trauma. A gun being fired at Oxford Middle School is the most blatantly obvious and sickening of them all. Our community is still grieving the loss of four of my classmates, then an SRO accidentally pulls the trigger on his firearm. What if next time a child is accidentally shot?”

“I am both shocked and disgusted that an SRO would be so careless with a gun on a school campus,” said Mackayla McNamara, a senior at Oxford High School. “If an officer with abundant experience can’t properly handle his weapon, how is his presence meant to keep us safe? Accidental shootings are exceedingly common and claim far too many lives. Hiring SROs to prevent school shootings is simply a band-aid solution that actually puts students at risk. After the tragedy we went through last year, the last thing we want more of at school are guns.”

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