Douglas County schools giving rifles to security guards

The Douglas County School District is planning to arm its security staff with semiautomatic rifles to serve as a defense in the event of a school shooting or other violent attack.

Security director Richard Payne told The Denver Post that he decided to spend more than $12,000 on rifles for the district’s eight armed officers to give them the same tools as law enforcement, including the sheriff’s deputies they train with. He said they will be kept locked in patrol cars and won’t be in schools.

Officers will have to complete a 20-hour training course before the rifles are handed out. The first few guns will be deployed by next month.

Other Denver-area school districts either only provide their guards with handguns or no firearms at all.