Johnson County School District taking new safety measures following Friday shooting incident

The Johnson County Board of Education is working with law enforcement to increase security during football games. The district also plans to have safety drills involving teachers and students.

WRIGHTSVILLE, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – The Johnson County School District is taking new safety measures after a man fired shots during a football game Friday, sending students and fans running for safety.

The district held a news conference Tuesday to announce the efforts.

Police arrested Joshua Russell of Dublin in connection with the incident. He faces multiple charges.

School district Superintendent Dr. Christopher Watkins says law enforcement responded quickly, but you can never be too safe.

“We are JOCO, it takes the whole community and definitely we had a great response,” Dr. Watkins said. “That quick response just lets us know that we are prepared, our law enforcement was prepared, and we’re gonna be even more prepared in the future.”

The Johnson County Board of Education is working with law enforcement to increase security during football games. The district also plans to have safety drills involving teachers and students.

Dr. Watkins says he wants parents and students to feel safe at games.

“We don’t like for our fans to come on our campus and not feel safe,” he said. “So we definitely have a lot of things in place that we want to move forward with.”

The Johnson County Sheriff’s Office is still investigating Friday’s incident.

The school district says it plans to have the new safety measures in place for the first home game on September 2.