Johnston County public schools beef up security with shatter-proof glass entrances

District administrators believe installation of the main entrances will give the schools more time to react should an active shooter try to enter the building.

Dolores Gill, spokeswoman for the the school district, said the Feb. 14, 2018, shooting at a South Florida school prompted officials to act.

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"The Parkland shootings really brought everything into a new sense of urgency," she said.

During that mass shooting, 17 people, most of them students, were killed when a former student walked onto campus and opened fire with a semi-automatic rifle at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

David Allen, principal at Smithfield Selma High School, which has over 1,300 students enrolled, said the re-enforced entrance at his campus will be outfitted completely with shatter-proof glass and a second fortified door.

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If there's a threat like an active shooter, Allen says, the person would be contained inside the vestibule, with no access to the main building.

"It helps us see what's happening," Allen said. "If there's a concern, you're immediately forced (to interact) with a person who can really see you rather than being on the other side of a camera."

The new re-enforced entrance is part of other security measures already in place, like surveillance cameras and identifying people at the front door before buzzing them in the building.

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Construction on the new entrances is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

This added security is happening only at the main entrances at all 45 Johnston County public schools, so Allen says that's why it will be important for students, staff and faculty to make sure other doors are secure.