Weapon detection system flags gun at Edgecombe County awards ceremony

Chanda Battle wears many hats.

She is the parent of a teenager and also the director of student support services for Edgecombe County Schools.

About a year ago, she worked with the Edgecombe County Sheriff's Office to implement the Evolv Express weapon detection system in every school in the district.

“We would like to think of ourselves as innovators,” Battle said.

“We got into this when people weren't willing to spend that much money on these systems.” We thought the kids were worth it,” Battle said.

The system detected a handgun in a purse at Coker Wimberly Elementary School on Wednesday as the women were heading to an awards ceremony.

Captain Joseph Cofield said he considered it a success.

“Anytime we get a gun off campus, it’s a win-win,” Cofield said.

As the district approaches a weekend of end-of-year activities and graduation celebrations, it is preparing for every guest to go through the Evolv system. This means moving systems from individual schools to degree-receiving institutions.

“Safety is the message we’re sending, and we’re okay with that,” Battle said.

WRAL News reached out to several other schools in our area to see how they are handling security during graduation. We found that they all had different ways to increase security, from adding SROs to using metal detectors, but schools with Evolv are using them.

“It's not 100 percent, but it's what we use to help maintain a safe environment in these schools,” Cofield said.

Parents like Battle are more comfortable knowing there is an extra layer of security for their children.

“My teenager thinks he's invincible. They weren't as aware of their surroundings as we might like,” he said.

The woman who brought the gun to Coker Wimberly Elementary School is now facing criminal charges.