Because of a shooting incident Monday afternoon on Holly Avenue, Cravens Elementary School locked down and delayed dismissal to ensure the protection of students and staff. In 2022 alone, at least three firearm-related incidents have been near schools in the Owensboro Public Schools district.
Though only one of those incidents was during school hours, Owensboro Public Schools Vice Chairman Michael Johnson said the district is seeing more lockdowns than ever before with the rise in violence near their buildings.
“Public safety has got to be number one, especially right now,” Johnson said. “… Cravens was on lockdown [Monday]. Kids were getting out of school; parents were terrified. Some students saw the individual with the ski mask and the gun shooting. It’s really starting to get out of hand.”
Concerns about gun violence in the area were discussed Tuesday evening during a meeting hosted by the Northwest Neighborhood Alliance.
Owensboro Police Department Officer Dakota Kendall said there has been some additional patrolling in the neighborhood. Kendall said that the Emergency Response Team (ERT) has been in the area is ready to respond at a moment’s notice, adding that the ERT works for barricaded and active situations.
A conversation of the FLEX team making a reappearance also came up, but Kendall could not comment on the matter. However, City Commissioner Bob Glenn said that the presence of the team did lower the number of firearm-related incidents.
“My understanding is that it worked pretty well. It calmed the situation for a while, until … the last three months or so, where we’ve seen an uptick in gun violence,” Glenn said.
City Commissioner Mark Castlen said that there is a potential to reconsider the FLEX team’s appearance in the neighborhood to help bring comfort to the community.
