Weapon detectors will be added to Salem-Keizer middle schools this year

Nearly 8,800 middle school students in Salem and Keizer will soon have to pass through weapon detectors before going to class.

Salem-Keizer School District leaders announced Thursday that they will roll out security screenings at the district’s 12 middle schools over the course of this school year.

The decision stemmed from a “disturbing trend” of younger and younger children facing weapons-related charges in the Marion County juvenile system, said Chris Baldridge, the district’s security director,…