Highland Park High School students greeted with increased security on first day of school

Highland Park High School students showing up for the first day of classes Wednesday were greeted by a new weapons detection systems earlier than planned and extra security in response to the fatal shooting of a 16-year-old student over the weekend.

Bruce Law, Township High School District 113 superintendent, told district families this week that officials gradually are going to introduce weapons detectors at district schools this semester. Law said the fatal shooting of Omar Diaz on Sunday prompted district officials to begin using weapons detectors on the first day of classes.

“We are expecting arrival to be more challenging than it would have been had we had time to adequately prepare, but I believe that whatever extra inconvenience we experience in the short term will be worth it,” Law wrote in his message to families.

Law said the weapons detectors will not be at every door every day as administrators assess the success of the new program. He said for security reasons the district will not announce in advance which doors will have the detection systems on which day.

In addition to the new weapons detectors, Law said there would be an increased police presence at Highland Park High School.

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