Gun massacre students told to use clear backpacks

STUDENTS at the Florida high school where 17 people were killed last month will be required to use clear backpacks as part of new security measures to prevent another mass shooting.

Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School students will receive the bags free of charge and will not be allowed to use any other type on their return from spring break on Apr 2. They will also have to wear identification badges, and the school will look into installing permanent metal detectors, giving staff metal-detecting wands and consolidating points of visitor entry.

In a two-page letter to parents, school officials outlined plans to “fortify” the school campus where alleged gunman Nikolas Cruz, 19, opened fire on students with an AR-15 assault rifle on Valentine’s Day.

However, the new procedures have been criticised by students at the Parkland school who argue the changes are not robust enough to prevent another high school shooting. One said on Twitter: “I appreciate the attempt, but I’d rather have common [sense] gun laws than a clear backpack.”

Professor Matthew Mayer, an expert on school violence at the Rutgers Graduate School of Education in New Jersey, told The Daily Telegraph that metal detectors and ID badges would do “nothing to stop a school shooter who enters the building by force”.