The parents need to face consequences too when their "kids" bring weapons to schools ... and she needs to be expelled permanently!

After hearing lots of helicopters hovering nearby, I figured something was happening, and went over to find out. Media everywhere, and I arrived as a police rep was talking with the media about the incident. I filmed it on my iPhone for members of our Virginia-Highland neighborhood online community to be able to watch the report, unfiltered. If you're not already signed up for Nextdoor Virginia-Highland (private social network for the neighborhood with 1,029 members and growing), here's the link: https://virginia-highland.nextdoor.com

I cannot think of a single scenario where a high school student, at school during the day, would believe there would be a mortal threat present such that he/she felt compelled to carry a weapon. The shooter therefore must have had an intended target other than herself. Not only is this person 'intellectually compromised' enough to bring a firearm to school, she is also too stupid to know where the gun's safety is. No simpathy from this writer-hope she limps for the rest of her life.

Why did she have a gun AT ALL?! This story is absurd. I agree 100% with everything Aya, above me, said. Expelled permanently and a long discussion with her parents.

I love how liberals can spin anything - they don't want guns but also don't like bullying but when someone gets caught shooting themselves then maybe they were scared of a bully so buy a gun lmao how convenient... The point is Grady is a bottom of the barrel school and she was probably selling the piece and it discharged when someone was testing the merch ha ha

Wow. This girl is clearly gunning (yes, pun intended) for a Darwin Award. I'm sure we'll get more of an explanation as soon as her parents go on the news blaming the system for their daughter's stupidity. What's the maxiumum sentence for bringing a firearm onto school grounds? Hopefully, the authorities will break from their current policy of "zero accountablility" and make an example of her. I'm sure she can still finish her educuation from prison!

Meinert, you mistook my question as an advocacy. I wasn't taking a stand one way or the other -- just presenting you with a scenario. Assault, you're either an internet troll or diminished somehow b/c your comment was plain silly at best.

Settle down everyone it's Parent Career Day at Grady and she was just demonstrating what daddy does for a living.

Hurricane and Assault - You are idiots. Grady is an excellent school, and I guarantee you the majority of the kids there have a better understanding of grammar than you do. Ever heard of a comma? My kid goes to Grady, and both his parents are lawyers who do not own guns.

Sharon Foster Jones is correct....buzz off idiots

SFJ,
I think Grady is a great school, but incidents like this one don't help its reputation. My kids will be going there.
I bet her parents are not lawyers and do 'own' a gun...does 'owning' a gun implies that it was obtained legally and not bought on the corner out of a car trunk?

Please excuse my typos and grammar - send from my iPhone and I don't care if there are any....

Bullies can and do threaten life. While left unsupervised at Inman, our 12 year old Inman honor role student was the victim of a Near Homicide 4-on-1 Assault; requiring a 3hr under the knife corrective surgery; nose broken in 3 places; deviated septum; 95% of sinuses caved in; left w/ only 5% breathing capacity; 3 week recovery; 6 month healing process. Bullying & Threats have continued unabated. No action taken by Inman or APS except to say "we try our best and have Best Practices in place". Flaws in security procedures have also been pointed out to Inman, and cell phone video'ed, but with no lasting corrective action. If anyone else has experienced Inman Bullying issues, or would like us to forward our video of Inman security flaws, please contact us directly.
Sincerely,
Jeff & Jennifer Del Bagno - jdelba7821@aol.com - (404) 861-0194

this student was known to carry a gun. fat enough to survive a GSW to the thigh

Meinert,

SFJ probably didn't do it, because she read 'please excuse my typos and grammar'..

I would like to 'axe' you what didn't you understand about my statement (ability to communicate)? I know the answer - you were distracted giving grammar lessons...what good is that if you can't focus. Look at me, look at me, I know grammar better than Asa! Good job.
Once you finish proof reading what I wrote, come back to this part: that's all I have left is to 'hope' that my kids won't be distracted or negatively affected by these incidents at Grady/Inman while applying themselves.

Would be interesting too see what APS would do with this girl. Hopefully not sweep it under the rug and let her return to school.

Meinert,

I appreciate your last comments! Actually, I am an immigrant - still can't shake off some of the grammar errors (I went to an American public high school...ha-ha!) I am OK with it, since this is my 2nd language.

P.S. There is a typo in your 6:48 pm response...sorry, couldn't resist... :)

Turns out she "didn't know the gun was in her jacket." Of course, this is according to her mother who, in classic modern parenting fashion, sat on the news making excuses for her daughter instead of accepting responsibility. I admit, it's a creative divergence from the usual "holding it for a friend" scenario, but still. Awww. Poor thing. "She just made a mistake. She was planning on going to college blah blah blah." Forgetting your math homework at home is a mistake. Let's just hope some bleeding heart judge (whose children are safely ensconced in private school) doesn't let her off easy.

I can't believe how many people on this thread are calling for the permanent expulsion of this girl and the barring of enrollment in another school- seriously, you all want a child to be forbidden from finishing her education and essentially punished for her mistakes with a lifetime of struggle in a system where the less-educated have virtually no chance of getting ahead? And all without knowing the story behind the incident, or her life leading up to it? That's disgusting.

It is the responsibility of our adult leaders to find out what her reasons were and work towards solving the problem through positive strategies, not just give up on her and shove her out onto the street. This is the same one-strike-and-you're-out mentality that keeps prison doors revolving- people are given no help to rehabilitate and reintegrate into society, and then you are so shocked when they commit crimes again when they've been left with no other options because no one will hire them. I am an advocate for PEOPLE. I think the only way to make our communities stronger is to invest in people and focus on fixing the larger problems in the system and in society, not throwing people away. By calling a 17-year-old child you know nothing about "a degenerate," you have already dismissed her and stripped her of humanity in your mind. And that is deplorable.

No Gabe, that is not the responsibility of our leaders. That is her parent's responsibility, and all they've done so far is go on the news and make excuses for her.

Yesterday, Principal Herrema's Inman Middle School was put on a Hard Lock Down at the time of the Grady Incident. A Hard Lock Down is defined as all class room instruction immediately ceasing & all children are to huddle down & seek cover. This was announced over the school's PA system. Our son's class - Ms. Price's Boys Advisory Class - with Coach Derek Hooley supervising, did not adhere to this, nor were they instructed to do so, the class just kept right on going as if nothing happened, while the "supervising" teacher remained huddled over his PC. This is demonstrative of Inman's / APS's consistent & casual indifference to adhere to & comply with even basic APS Policy & Procedures, let alone common sense, especially alarming in light of current events & is directly attributable to any form of APS supervisory review & control over staff work fuctions, coupled with the lack of any accountability or consequences to APS / Davis. There must be a shift from Inman's / APS / Davis's consistent & ineffectual reactive "whack-a-mole", sound bite & cliche filled so called "actions" - to a pro-active & credible "let's do it right every day" approach, coupled with real accountability for all APS personnel. If you have also had issues with Inman's lack of compliance with Georgia Law & APS Policy & Procdures, or your child has been the victim of Bullying, Physical Threats & Violence at Inman please contact us directly.

Jeff & Jennifer Del Bagno, jdelba7821@aol.com, (404) 861-0194

Gabe,

People who bring guns to school are not going to fix problems in our society - they create them.

Let's start with allowing people who will fix problems in our society (pay high taxes, volunteer, donate, vote in every election and etc. - I am not describing a single socio-economic group) actually finish their education in peace, so they will be able to 'fix problems' (provide for others who don't care) in our society.

My vote is to 'shove her out onto the street' - a choice SHE made at 17, and NOT the awful society.

E. Davis, as quoted by AJC: “Our schools were not designed to be fortresses,” he said. “They were designed to be places of learning.”
In my definition a fortress would have a moat with crocodiles or an electric fence - neither of which are at Grady. We got that E. Davis, but how about keeping secure perimeter of buildings??? Those who let her in, should face disciplinary actions also (and make it public within the school, so students are warned). APS, now is your chance to set the precedent in order to minimize the possibility of school intruder in the future that can do much more damage than psychological impact of an idiot shooting herself.
If resource officer is not supervising metal detectors...better be guarding the back door. I would like to know what qualifications an assistant principal has to supervise metal detectors - better have a belt with a mace or a taser on it!!!
P.S. I think I just saw Gabe at the bank - getting $9,000 out to post a bond for Morgan, so he can help her.

I'm not sure what that crack about me is supposed to be. If I had that kind of money, maybe I would. I don't even live in Midtown- I can't afford to. I live in Southwest Atlanta, which everyone on this Patch seems to think is an apocalyptic murder factory, and I typically get my news from the Cascade Patch but if there's a link to an interesting story I'll follow it here, and let me say, the level of racism, classism and straight-up snobbery I see over here is shocking. Over on the "poor side of town," our comments sections are nearly all filled with discussion about how to support each other and rebuild community. Maybe you bougie folks over here could learn something from us.

I wasn't aware that it's racist or classist to demand some basic levels of discipline from parents and students who use a public school system funded by tax dollars. If you have some advice that doesn't demand even more from a group of law-abiding property owners who already fund the lion's share of public education in Atlanta, and whose involvement is responsible for the few success stories in the district, then by all means, enlighten us. If you're going to try and tell me that the 'system' is responsible for a child's success, and that system (us) should try and save every last kid at the expense of many, please save it. Us 'bougie' folk tend to subscribe to a doctrine of personal responsibility.

Gabe, it makes no difference in what part of town you live. Responsibility and accountability are important lessons for all youth (and this case the parents as well). There is no classism/racism or snobbery that I can read in these entries, except of course my goofball quip on grammar to the thankfully good-humored Asa. I will support youth, neighbors, and yes, even the 'system' if I can see worth in their endeavors. This is not one of those cases in my opinion.

Her dad said he was looking forward to her returning to school. Clearly he is completely delusional, and not understanding the seriousness of what's going on. There's obviously some seriously inadequate parenting going on, and I wouldn't be surprised if it comes out that she has some sort of deeper mental issue going on, that was never addressed.

Ugh. Please don't try and turn stupidity into a disorder for which she's not responsible. These days it seems like every other badly behaved kid gets a free pass because he suffers from...fill in the blank. Then he gets pumped full of the latest pharmaceutical cash cow that really just makes the problem worse. Maybe I'm just old, but isn't it a multi-generational lack of consequences that got us all into this mess in the first place?

If you have the time and energy to dialogue about Morgan Tukes (and your prejudice), why not do something productive with your communication skills?

You can help to address the needs of the children that, whether you like it or not, are part of the Grady cluster. Volunteer your time at Inman or Grady to mentor or tutor a child that has not been blessed with the advantages that your child has. If you make a true connection, only good things will come of it for everyone involved.

Maye, maybe you didn't read all of these posts. Perhaps you're just itching to divert responsibility by throwing the race card in an attempt to end the discussion. We ARE the parents who've been volunteering our butts off since our kids were in Kindergarten. That's why we're all so disgusted when something like this happens. We work hard, raise our kids right and give tons of time to our schools while others, who do none of the above, ruin it for everyone else. I have zero sympathy for people who squander a good opportunity. At 17, you're old enough to make a decision to rise above your circumstances. Tutoring is available for students who need academic help. As for character? At some point that's up to the individual, NOT society. Don't you dare hold the rest of us responsible for this girl's poor decision-making...whether your talking about the gun issue, or the hit-and-run she also just got charged with. If you want to blame someone, blame our government. In the name of keeping a captive audience, they've turned entitlements into a lifestyle instead of the 'leg up' they were originally designed to be. This undoubtedly perpetuates these issues.

Maye,
Do you have a child at Grady? If you did you'd get a bit of the inside scoop from those that know a deeper story: the students. Morgan does seem to have much of a history of or propensity for self-amelioration according to her peers. While I'm a collectivist/liberal believer-in-communities in many ways, I would not waste my time with her ilk until she shows some sort of effort. Furthermore, please lay out an example for us by describing your recent tutoring efforts at Grady.

BTW, race card, shmace card. I would have exactly the same reaction to any other ethnicity with the same history as Morgan's.

Spoke to GHS student who said she brought gun to have shoot out with 4 other students. They were planning on it. No accident. The 4 others also had guns that day!! The GHS student told me lots of kids bring guns, they just come 5 minutes late when detectors off/no bag search and or use one of many other doors. OMG !!! Are you kidding me!! The GHS student said not kidding.

Ugh, I can't believe I live in the Grady cluster amongst all of these commenters. Gabe and Maye, I apologize, and please understand that we're not all like these people.

Seth, your comments make my point better than I did. Thanks for "speaking" for me.

Jennifer, what's really embarrassing is that APS would rather hide behind a politically correct veneer than have an honest discussion about the problems that plague our district. It's all about appearances. Take Inman, for example. Davis has sidestepped logical solutions to overcrowding in order to maintain a demographic 'balance' that allows them to keep their Title I status. This makes it 'appear' as if APS is doing a good job of educating impoverished minorities. It's a similar scenario at Jackson High School. They're trying for IB curriculum at a school where a large chunk of the students won't even be eligible to participate. The school (and the district) would be better served by an amazing vocational program...but putting a vocational program in a less affluent area doesn't 'look' as good, right? Some sort of underlying prejudice is inferred when it's really just common sense. What's REALLY embarrassing is that APS is far more concerned with maintaining its own flimsy reputation than it is with the safety and education of its students.

At one point I was going to clarify that my "racism and classism" comment was in reference to various threads on this Patch, not specifically this one, but then a bunch of you came behind me with your explicit racism and classism and made it unnecessary. Let me be clear about one thing: WE ARE NOT ALL BORN WITH THE SAME OPPORTUNITIES TO SUCCEED. People who are born into a cycle of SYSTEMIC poverty rooted in - you guessed it - RACISM AND CLASSISM, do not by any means have the same opportunities as, say, an affluent white kid from the suburbs. Sure, if you're born disadvantaged, maybe you can be one of those one-in-a-million beat-the-odds stories, but that's the point- you have to beat the odds, because they are stacked against you from the jump. You might be able to achieve the same things as the privileged kid, IF you work several times as hard, but you shouldn't have to. When and if we undo the systems of oppression and give everyone a TRULY equal playing field, THEN we will see a reduction in crime and in kids being this troubled. But only then.

Systemic poverty is caused by elected officials who see a certain population as incapable of doing anything more than accepting a handout; yet, those officials keep getting reelected. I doubt that any of those 'beat the odds' stories involve throwing more money at a kid (or adding a .5 to his GPA like they did when I was in college). Usually, it involves someone (teacher, coach, etc.) who shows the kid the value of discipline and accountability.

JH, i hear what you're saying.....but its really complex. I would be surprised if there are more than just a few folks in the grady/inman district who are taking what you're calling handouts (do you mean welfare?) ...it's more just working poor....and I agree that spending more per student is not the answer. The kids I"ve seen helped as ones that a teacher stepped up for (as you note) but even the superstar teachers can't help more than 2 or 3 kids a year this way...it takes a special teacher & a special kid. Back to the homework thing....my 3 kids are all great at math but I have to trace that almost 100% back to my husband...who's great at math....they didn't inherit it from him...he sat down at the table and helped them night after night. Had I been a single mom, they would have been terrible math students....partly because i'm a terrible math student...and partly because I wouldn't have had time. Anyway, like i say, it's really complicated once you're in the middle of it.

Good one Gabe,

Thanks for putting 'work several times as hard' and 'shouldn't have to' in the same sentence. I love it!!!

People who built this country weren't 'affluent white kids from the suburbs'...coming to this country (separated from their families at very young age many times) they had five time as bad as 'cycle of systemic poverty' (btw, cry me a river) that you are referring to: no welfare, no free health care, no police protection, no formal education...a lot of them were rejected by Europe. You know what else they didn't have, sense of entitlement...and that in part what made people successful, because they realized that THEY HAD to WORK more than several times as HARD in order to survive.

What does a comparison of the effort to an 'affluent white kids from the suburbs' does?!?!...it SUFFOCATES your effort, as you are busy sitting and complaining how it is not fare.

P.S. Wasting your time reading Karl Marx and Lenin...look where it got Soviet Union to (just in case: it fell apart and people are trying to rebuild using many parts of the capitalistic model...where you have to work very, very hard).

Southern Hope, I get it. Why can't these kids be put into an alternative learning environment, as young as possible? If appropriate, they can eventually go back to a mainstream classroom. Why is the administration is so resistant to having any separation when it makes good sense? I know for a fact that classrooms in the SE cluster (and increasingly at Inman) are being held hostage by kids with severe disciplinary issues. After a long song and dance of documentation and multiple layers of red tape, they go right back into the regular class and continue to wreak havoc.

Thank you for the oh so predictable knee-jerk liberal reaction Jennifer. You're right, I'm BAD BAD PERSON because I want my kid segregated, yes, segregated from the type of kid who brings a firearm to school. While we're at it, let's stop any and all differentiation within the classroom and pretend we're all exactly the same. No more special ed, no more gifted classes, no more special services for Autistic kids. Southern Hope was pointing out that certain children, by virture of being born into certain circumstances, have some additional needs. Fine, let's meet those needs. Let's put them in an environment with special teachers who can address the emotional, disciplinary and academic holes in their world so they can get back to a mainstream classroom as soon as they are able. But maybe you're right, maybe it's better to continue to pretend that these problems don't exist in certain populations. Let's just keep ignoring it, and hope our denial will keep us from being called a racist.

Jennifer, if you were actually reading some of these posts instead of simply trying to vilify me, you would realize that "these kids" I was referring to were the kids Southern Hope described in her post. "As young as possible" refers to the concept of early intervention, which is also used to address academic deficiencies and Autism Spectrum Disorders. Serious behavioral issues often present themselves in elementary school. Perhaps you think it's a better strategy to wait until a kid is 17 and commits a felony to address her disciplinary problems?

Jennifer, did you just make a generalization that high poverty automatically equals a disciplinary problem (maybe I should have employed your snarky use of quotation marks there)? I'm fairly certain that there are plenty of poor kids whose parents care about them and instill them with decent values. The program I'm envisioning is specifically for those children who are at-risk from a disciplinary standpoint.

That being said, I suspect that like most government agencies, APS suffers from a level of poor financial management. There is probably some money that can be reallocated. In addition, there are creative ways to galvanize corporate, academic and community support. Once these avenues have been exhausted, I would absolutely accept idea of paying more in taxes for an effective program that, if done properly, would not be needed within a generation (at least according to Gabe).

What else? And P.S. it's Ma'am, not sir.

Atlanta has a serious problem with discipline in schools and it needs to be addressed. How many kids need to suffer for the bad parenting and lack of respect for education from the low SES community? We need help from the state legislature due to the failure of local "leaders".

Jennifer, I love your comments. You can speak for me on this one!

that's why they call her "Big Morgan", morbidly obese. So she fled the hit and run last fall at Mickey D's (after loading up on a half dozen Big Mac's by the looks of her) because she had the gun then too

And the story continues at Sutton Middle School, where a boy shoots 3 students with an AirSoft gun (available at sporting good stores). The bus driver barely notices anything and the administration takes 3 days to notify parents about the situation and the aggravated assault. What poor leaders we have running APS! Please wake up and help improve the safety of our schools by teaching how to fix it. Price, Grady, Sutton...where next?

I agree that the stadium is a gross misappropriation of tax dollars, but we already spend a lot on various and often redundant programs to try and reform school children who suffer from a lack of disciplined parenting. How about finding a way to hold parents accountable for their kid's bad behavior? While we're on the subject of obscenely-paid individuals, why not call out the current executive-in-chief at APS, who is far more interested in maintaining a facade than actually doing anything to address behavioral issues all over the city's schools?