Page 4 - Will Hoffman News Today

Schools in a rural North Carolina county will now stock an AR-15 assault rifle as officials beef up security measures in the wake of May's deadly mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas.

The weapons, in addition to ammo and breaching tools for barricaded doors, will be kept in safes in each school.

Madison County, North Carolina, Sheriff Buddy Harwood said all county schools will have an AR-15 assault rifle and extra ammo locked in a safe.

School resource officers will be responsible for handling the rifles.

Madison County parents and residents weigh in on the decision to have AR-15s in schools. Heres what they had to say.

A North Carolina sheriff's office has placed locked-up AR-15 rifles on a school district's six campuses as an added security measure for the coming school year.

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"But just remember: what defines us is who we are, our intentions, and our actions, not how others react to them," said MECHS grad Lucas Barilovits.

"There are times when you have a happy dance, and this community had one of those the last few days," said Interim County Manager Norris Gentry.

Madison High principal David Robinson died unexpectedly Jan. 25 after being transported to Mission Hospital earlier in the day. He was 54 years old.