Elementary schools in Iredell County will soon have portable ballistic shields.
The sheriff’s office says the shields will be used by officers while clearing a school in the event of an active shooter.
"This is just another way we are hardening our schools in an effort to make our schools here in Iredell County more secure, I’m pleased to announce the Iredell County Sheriff’s Office will be pre-deploying the latest technology in bullet resistant shields to our elementary schools," Sheriff Darren Campbell wrote in a Facebook post. "By pre-deploying these assets, we are taking efforts to protect the schools who do not, at this point, have a full-time school resource deputy assigned to them."
The $45,000 to purchase the shields will come from assets that have been seized from convicted drug offenders and other criminals.
"I cannot think of a better way to use drug dealer’s money in the community than to protect the students and staff members, as well as our deputies in these schools," Campbell wrote.