Families in Edgecombe County will see safety changes at Friday night football games, following a shooting at last week's Southwest Edgecombe game that hurt two teenagers.
The Edgecombe County Sheriff's Office Captain Bryan Corey says they will be doubling deputy presence for Friday night games, starting tonight. He also promises families that the changes will be permanent.
Other WRAL Top Stories
"It won't spread us thin," Corey stated. "We normally would have six deputies at the high school games. Now you'll see anywhere from about 12 deputies at the games now."
Corey ensured that this increase in police presence is important so that "we won't have this incident again" and that county residents "are safe when coming to the games."
These changes come a week after a shooting at game between Tarboro High School and South West Edgecombe High School in Pinetops that left two teenagers hurt.
Another teenager, 17-year-old Jamarion Hinton is now in custody and charged in connection to the shooting. He faces charges of attempted first-degree murder and discharging a weapon on school property.
Hinton was arrested in Raleigh and is being held in a Wake County juvenile detention facility.
Edgecombe County Sheriff Clee Atkinson said that none of the people involved were affiliated with SW Edgecombe or Tarboro schools or the football teams.
Edgecombe County Schools Superintendent Andy Bryan says the school system will work with law enforcement to evaluate the situation week-by-week to determine how to best keep everyone safe.
While he acknowledged the resources the schools have—school resource officers, deputies, weapons detection systems and great staff—he said he's working with the sheriff's office to enhance all aspects.
"We really intensified our efforts to keep everybody safe," Bryan said. "There will be some things people will see and say, 'Oh that’s a little different,' like lighting in a specific area, or extra support or maybe deputies are positioned in a different place."
Bryan said these changes are permanent as the school and county continues to review the safety procedures and processes in place. He said there might even be more changes as they go through the season.