Safety a priority for new Glenridge Middle School principal

ORLANDO, Fla. — Glenridge Middle School in Orange County had two gun incidents in the last few months of the last school year.

When school starts Monday, Glenridge will have a new principal, and he sat down with Channel 9's Kathi Belich, telling her extra precautions will be taken to keep students safe.

In May, Orlando police found a loaded gun magazine in a trash can on the middle school campus after getting a report of a rumored plan for someone to open fire during lunchtime.

Two months earlier, 12-year-old Sam Wolf brought two guns to school, including a 9 mm semiautomatic, and told police he planned to sell them.

New Principal Trevor Honohan said he will address those issues early and often this year.

"We're here, we're watching, and we want you to be aware of the consequences of anything you do that might be inappropriate on school campus or against the law here or anywhere they travel," he said.

The school's resource officer will be more visible this year, and everyone will be forewarned that they could be searched.

The district will also continue going to schools at random and making all the students go through metal detectors. Only three top administrators will know in advance which school is next.

Wolf has since been expelled from the district, and police never found out who put the loaded magazine in the trash, but Honohan has no plans to dwell on the past.

He already made Audubon Park Elementary the district's most tech-savvy school and hopes to upgrade the tech skills at Glenridge.

"I want the real positive stories that develop here on a daily basis to overshadow anything else," he said.

Honohan said he plans to get parents involved in the classroom, which he believes will build a greater sense of community and pride.

Last year, parents were angry that Glenridge withheld information from them during the gun incidents.

This year, the district said its robocalls will more closely mirror what law enforcement makes public.

WFTV