BALTIMORE — Harford County school and law enforcement officials are planning a meeting with the community to address school safety concerns raised by the September fatal shooting at Joppatowne High School.

School officials said the Oct. 29 meeting will be an opportunity for parents, guardians, school staff and the sheriff’s office to discuss school safety and develop potential solutions to improve safety in schools across the county.

The meeting will run from 5:30 p.m. until 7:30 p.m. at Patterson Mill Middle/High School. Attendance will be capped at 100 to “most efficiently discuss ideas during the event,” the school system said in a news release. To register, go to Harford County Public Schools’ website.

Board of Education member Lauren Strauss called for the joint safety discussion during a meeting following the Sept. 6 shooting that took the life of 15-year-old Warren Grant.

“I am calling on this board to take real action,” Strauss said during the meeting. “If academic achievement is our goal, school safety and student well-being has to be a must.”

Grant was shot once in the chest by 16-year-old Jaylen Prince during a physical altercation between the two in a bathroom on the first floor of the school, according to charging documents. Prince pulled a handgun from his backpack and shot Grant once, police say. Grant was dragged out of the bathroom following the shooting by other students who attempted to render aid while Prince fled the school grounds.

First responders airlifted Grant to an area hospital, where he later died.

Police said Prince was later arrested when he was trying to break into a home in the area. The 16-year-old is being charged as an adult with murder, first- and second-degree assault, and the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony/crime of violence.

The Harford County State’s Attorney’s office said during a bail review hearing that a search of Prince’s home found ammunition under his mattress and photos of him with a firearm on his phone. However, the firearm that police say Prince used in the shooting has not been recovered.

During the hearing, Prince was denied bail.

Joppatowne High and other schools in the area were closed during a portion of the week following the shooting as school officials said the community needed “time to heal” from the tragic event.

Community members mourned Grant through a vigil in Edgewood that drew more than 100 of his friends and community members. Flowers were left in front of Joppatowne High and hundreds of students wore purple when they returned to school in support of the Joppatowne community.

Since the shooting, Joppatowne High students have been prohibited from carrying large backpacks at the school as a safety precaution taken by the school’s principal, Melissa Williams. Students carrying large backpacks are stopped and searched, and the bags are confiscated.

The restriction followed the discovery that Joppatowne High does not have enough lockers for all students — forcing many to carry their backpacks with them throughout the school day.

Public comment during the Board of Education’s first meeting after the shooting was charged with emotion as residents demanded increased safety measures in all Harford County school buildings.

Many residents said the bag restrictions were a step in the right direction, but that the school system needs to install metal detectors and mandate that students use clear backpacks.

“We must implement additional measures such as metal detectors, expanded school police forces and tighter security protocols,” Nikia Evans wrote in a letter to the school system. “I urge the school district to implement more stringent measures to prevent future acts of violence within our schools.”

A petition started by a Harford schools parent, Marcus Custer, advocating for metal detectors and clear backpacks in schools has 4,278 signatures.

“We need to act now because we cannot afford another tragedy to push us to act,” Custer said during the board meeting following the shooting.

During the board’s first meeting since the shooting, Melissa Hahn, school board vice president, argued that safety concerns associated with students carrying backpacks during the school day led to the shooting and called for the school system’s superintendent, Sean Bulson, to resign.

Hahn alleged that Bulson knew of many safety concerns at Joppatowne High — including the shortage of lockers — and failed to act on them.

“A child has died and this is directly due to the negligence on the part of Dr. Bulson,” Hahn said during the meeting. “Dr. Bulson failed to enforce discipline policies and procedures while knowing of their existence … and it is for that reason and many other reasons that I request that Dr. Bulson immediately resign as superintendent.”

Board President Aaron Poynton stated that the board is conducting a thorough investigation into Hahn’s allegations and said that Bulson, along with the board, has already begun planning the implementation of additional security resources in schools using input from the community.

“The safety and well-being of our students and staff is our highest priority,” Poynton said. “Schools must be a place where every child feels safe. … Moving forward, we are committed to exploring new initiatives including both physical and technological security measures.”

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