Colorado School Bans Backpacks to Prevent School Shootings

After filming classmates discovering inventive methods to carry their textbooks without bags, a high school student shared a video on TikTok that went viral.

The decision of banning backpacks was made by Rigby Middle School after they found a gun in the bag of a 13-year old student. This time, there were no bullets fired, the girl was taken into custody and no one was hurt. Four months earlier, at the same school, two kids and a caretaker were shot.

With this decision, ​​backpacks are no longer allowed at secondary schools in Jefferson County School District in Colorado. Elementary school kids can still carry a bag.

Savannah Bagley, the TikToker, declared that the video she made had nothing to do with politics:

“It definitely is super scary. In the moment, it’s super scary,” Bagley says. “I just think it’s not something we need to constantly dwell on. I think the video that I made has nothing to do with being for or against banning backpacks or anything. It’s just to show how creative the people at my school are. It has nothing to do with politics.”

Bagley agrees that not carrying a bag at school is difficult, but that the district administration is doing its best.

School shootings have been on the rise in the last 5 years, during President Trump’s administration, from 46 shootings in 2016, to a record high 112 in 2019 and 2020. School shootings are understood as every time a gun is brandished, fired, or a bullet hits school property for any reason. 2018 recorded the highest active shooter record in a year, with 11.