Armed kids play defense

Students at a Brooklyn high-school campus awash in weapons said they are arming themselves due to growing safety concerns in and out of the classroom.

Security agents at the Adams Street complex in Downtown Brooklyn — which houses three schools and enrolls about 1,000 kids — have recovered 38 weapons from students over the past three days alone.

“I don’t feel safe,” said one female student before entering the building Friday.

A male student said self-defense has simply become part of life’s curriculum for many city kids.

“It’s just casual protection,” he said. When asked who he was fearful of, the teen said, “Ask the people with the knives.”

The city installed a metal detector at the building Thursday after a student at Urban Assembly School for Law and Justice was caught with a loaded 9 mm gun and $30,000 in cash the day prior.

The scanner found 21 weapons — nine knives, seven pepper-spray canisters and five Tasers — on its first day in operation (inset). Sources said another nine cans of pepper spray, six stun guns and a knife were recovered early Friday.

A Post reporter witnessed a female student attempt to discard a stun gun before entering the building Friday. A security agent saw her place it next to a curb and picked it up.

“Those are for self-protection,” a 17-yearold senior said of the weapons. “Some of it is gang related. But most of the time it’s for protection from people in general.”

Students said that kids are especially concerned about their sometimes perilous trips to and from school each day.

“We take the trains, and some of us get out late,” he said. “We don’t live in safe areas.”

Parent Ali Shah said he fears for his ninth-grade daughter’s safety and doesn’t allow her to trek to class by herself. “I am scared for my child,” he said. “Every day I drop her off and pick her up.”

City officials increased the number of schools subject to random scanning after a surge in gun recoveries and violent incidents earlier this year.

Three firearms were recovered from inside different city schools in a matter of hours in October.

School-safety agent union president Greg Floyd said gangs have taken root inside some city schools and that unaffiliated kids feel vulnerable.

“They’re bringing weapons because they’re scared,” he said. “The ones who don’t want to be involved with gangs want to protect themselves from the gangs.”