After another gun was found on a school campus Friday, this time at Jordan High School in Durham, parents are wondering what can be done to prevent it from happening again.
Roland Tita, a Jordan High School parent, said he was worried for the safety of his two children.
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"Please, please let them not be hurt," Tita said.
Including Jordan and Millbrook High School, where someone brought a loaded AR-15 to the campus Thursday during Millbrook High's basketball game, 11 guns have been found on school campuses in February alone.
Tita said he, like many other parents, is looking for answers on how to stop the growing problem.
"Do we put cameras in every room?" Tita asked. "Cameras all over the place to make sure we put eyes on everything?"
Dr. Jaclyn Schildkraut, with the Regional Gun Violence Consortium, said hyper vigilance about possible threats and speaking out could be life saving.
"[The] presence of a weapon on campus is unsettling, its not what schools are for," Schildkraut said. "People are coming forward more, and want to make sure their kids are coming home at the end of the day."
A practice giving parents like Tita a little bit of peace of mind for his children.
"I think that might be the best thing right now," Tita said. "For people to be vigilant and see whats going on."
Another gun found on campus
A 14-year-old boy brought a gun to Jordan High School in Durham on Friday, the Durham County Sheriff's Office said.
The school resource officer got a tip just before 4 p.m. that a student had a gun on campus. The school was locked down, and a loaded handgun was found in the student's bag.
“Last week and into this week we listened to students from across Durham Public Schools as they spoke about their concerns surrounding gun violence," said Sheriff Clarence Birkhead. "While I’m glad the lesson 'See Something, Say Something' is getting across to our students, it’s disheartening that young people believe they need to solve their problems with a gun. Thankfully, in this instance, no one was injured or killed.”
The gun found at Jordan marks the 11th gun found on a school campus this month alone, including an airsoft gun found at West Middlebrook Middle School.
This latest gun threat comes after two Durham students from another high school – Hillside High School – were shot and one was killed about five miles away and two weeks ago.
Triangle-area schools have faced a series of threats recently, ranging from weapons, including knives, guns and even Airsoft guns, to threats made on social media.
On Thursday night, someone brought an AR-15 into a playoff basketball game at Raleigh's Millbrook High School. Jordan is scheduled to play there on Saturday, and extra security measures are in place for that game.
In a few instances, parents or gun owners have faced charges for failing to secure a weapon brought to school. But the broader answer to school threats remains a mystery – one that keeps parents, teachers and lawmakers scrambling for solutions.
Some North Carolina school systems are exploring metal detectors and new-fangled weapons detection systems to keep guns out of schools, while others rely on cheaper, low-tech security measures like tip lines, anti-bullying programs and door locks.