Harford County parents are urging school officials to improve safety measures after a fatal shooting at Joppatowne High School last week.

“As a mother of seven, I am utterly devastated and heartbroken,” Nikia Evans wrote in a letter to the school system. “This tragedy highlights a critical need for increased safety measures, improved communication and greater transparency.”

Her letter echoed the sentiments of many parents who posted on social media platforms asking for enhanced security measures and transparency since the Friday killing of 15-year-old Warren Grant.

“We must implement additional measures such as metal detectors, expanded school police forces and tighter security protocols,” Evans wrote. “I urge the school district to implement more stringent measures to prevent future acts of violence within our schools.”

Joppatowne High student Jaylen Rushawn Prince, 16, of Edgewood, was charged as an adult in the shooting death of Grant, a fellow student. According to police reports, Prince pulled out a handgun during a fight inside the school and shot Grant in the chest. Prince fled the school and was arrested after allegedly attempting to break into a home, police said.

County Councilmembers Aaron Penman and Dion Guthrie said the county needs to look into ways to improve security within schools.

“I think back to when my kids were at Joppatowne High School and it is sad,” said Guthrie, a Democrat representing District A. “School safety needs to be a priority, and I will be looking into what we can do as a council to protect our students.”

Penman, a Republican representing District B and a sergeant with the Harford County Sheriff’s Office, said he also wants to engage in conversations about safety in addition to discussing methods of intervention to prevent problems from spilling into the school building.

“This should have never happened in a school,” Penman said. “There is a good possibility this could have happened outside of the school and we need to diagnose that from a community level and maybe that spills over to school administrators and they need to have the conversation and allow law enforcement to take preventative measures.”

As for prevention inside the school, Penman explained the importance of school resource officers and the potential of metal detectors as being a solution.

Both Guthrie and Penman said implementing deterrents such as metal detectors would be a costly endeavor.

“We need to have these discussions and I look forward to examining all options at the county level and metal detectors at schools would be one,” Penman said. “That does come with a cost but the loss of a life is much more costly than any dollar cost.”

Conversations at the county level regarding school safety are still preliminary stages. As of Monday, county officials said they are working to understand what led to the shooting at Joppatowne High School and what solutions they can enact that further protect students.