Four shootings in the last two weeks has people wondering if enough is being done at schools and at home to keep kids safe from violence. Monday at this time, parents, and students were here asking why these shootings keep happening.

Tuesday, Eyewitness News talked with one high school principal who says it all starts at home, then in school.

“Why is this happening? Why are students turning on each other? Why are people shooting randomly? Why are they taking other people's lives for no reason, it's confusing,” said Ileen Esparza, a Rancho High School student.

Esparaza, a high school senior, shares the same questions so many other students are asking throughout the district. One thing she says that keeps her away from the wrong path are her parents.

“My parents are really involved in my life. They know where I am, and they know what I am doing after school. They call me if they have a question. I talk to them,” said Esparaza.

Rancho High School principal Bob Chesto says this is what it's all about — parents taking an active role in their kids' lives.

“Familia. The family is everything. There's a lot of discussion that occurs. A lot about what happened at school and what did you learn today. What actually happened, what dance are you going to — those kind of interactions,” suggests Chesto.

Chesto welcomes parents to be a part of his staff. Edwin Duarte is a security monitor at Rancho and also a parent of a Rancho senior.

“Communication. You need to talk to your kids and let them know you are behind them 100-percent and support, a lot of support,” said Duarte.

It's this kind of support that leads to discipline.

“I tell my son, I better know what he's doing from him, than from somebody else,” said Chesto.

The district does not have a set policy for after school safety, but offers safety tips that are mailed out at the start of the school year. But it's what is taught during the year that Chesto says can make a difference.

“Responsible high school, achieve, most importantly safety,” said Chesto.

Principal Chesto says a lot more students are reporting other students who may cause a potential threat before anything major happens — another example of how kids are embracing what they are learning at home and at school.

The Southern Nevada Health District is holding Saturday immunization clinics to help parents beat the rush to meet new vaccination requirements for 7th graders next school year.

Starting this fall, 7th graders will need to be immunized against Bordetella pertussis. Here is a schedule for the Saturday clinics.

• March 15, 9 a.m. - 2 p.m., East Las Vegas Public Health Center, 560 N. Nellis Blvd., Suite E12, Las Vegas
• March 29, 9 a.m. - 2 p.m., North Las Vegas Public Health Center, 1820 E. Lake Mead Blvd., Suite F, North Las Vegas
• April 12, 9 a.m. - 2 p.m., Henderson Public Health Clinic, 520 E. Lake Mead Pkwy., Henderson
• April 26, 9 a.m. - 2 p.m., Ravenholt Public Health Center, 625 Shadow Lane, Las Vegas. This will be part of a health fair event.

Parents must bring shot records. There is a $16 administrative fee per patient for one immunization and a $20 fee per patient with two or more immunizations.

Also, college freshman younger than 24 years old and who plan to reside on campus must also now get an immunization against Neisseria meningitis.

Technology that's been perfected in the war against terror could soon find its way into the hands of local police.

Metro confirms that it's looking into the purchase of high tech drones that could be tracking your moves from the sky.

While it's not a done deal yet, the I-Team has learned the unmanned crafts are already zipping around above our heads.

What do you think? Should Metro be flying unmanned planes over Vegas?

Like every other segment of society, it will be a high tech future for lawmen. Metro police are not only looking at how and when to use sophisticated drones, but also other electronic doohickeys that will be bad news for bad guys.

UAV's aren't just spy platforms anymore. In Iraq and Afghanistan, weaponized drones not only look for bad guys, but they can also take them out.

Predators and other UAV's were tested and perfected at Nellis and Creech air bases. Some of the missions overseas are still remotely piloted from southern Nevada.

Military sources say new generations of insect or bird-sized UAV's are in development at Area 51. And now, the expertise honed on Nevada military ranges has filtered into the civilian sector.

In 2004, Lew Aerospace conducted a test flight in Las Vegas as a demo for the FBI. One of Lew's birds were launched from Caesars Palace.

Few, if any, people on the ground noticed as it zipped among the hotels, but judging what the UAV saw, its value to law enforcement has already been proven.

“We have flown for the FBI, we have flown for Norad, we have done border patrol work. Typically, UAV's are used wherever there is the three D's: dull, dangerous, or dirty work,” said Lew Aerospace V.P. of Operations, Sandy Mangold.

Company founder Paul Lew and his vice president Sandy Mangold don't need much of a sales pitch for their product. It speaks for itself.

Example, at the Nevada Test Site, a chemical cloud was released. Instead of sending a manned vehicle into what could be a deadly situation, a UAV flew through carrying equipment that analyzed the threat.

“It's one of those technologies that is inevitable,” said Lew.

The government already uses UAV's to scour the test site in search of unexploded ordinance. The applications for anti-terrorism efforts are obvious, both for the military and the police.

Metro Assistant Sheriff Mike McClary has spent more than 2 years investigating types, cost and possible uses for UAV's.

“We have so many special events every year. You talk about NASCAR, New Year's Eve, the Laughlin River Run — events like that spread over a large geographical area or over a long chronological time. Those might be applicable,” he said.

Some UAV's carry thermal imaging gear which would allow police to track fleeing suspects at night or in crowds.

Car chases could be far less dangerous for bystanders and officers since a small UAV could follow without being noticed, unlike a helicopter or patrol car. They can stay airborne for up to 24 hours at a much lower cost than a chopper, and would be invaluable in operations such as searches for missing persons.

In a hostage situation, a UAV could provide real-time intelligence, without putting officers in the line of fire or inciting the suspect.

Sheriff Doug Gillespie wants to find the right fit for Metro, so the department has been in no hurry to buy.

“You can buy anything from the size of a sparrow to an f-22 Raptor. It depends on how much money you've got, where you can land it and where you can take off from,” said McClary.

McClary says Metro would likely opt for a smaller system, something that could be launched by a one or two person team in situations that require immediate aerial surveillance.

UAV's would augment, not replace helicopters. In other cities where police have invested in UAV's, including Houston, concerns have been raised about invasions of privacy and surveillance without warrants.

Metro says the concerns are understandable, but the reality is, it's a line that's already been crossed. The only thing different is the size of the platform.

“Not one of these systems would possess anything that is not currently in helicopters that are flying around today,” said McClary.

Paul Lew is even more blunt, “Big brother has the ability to know what you're doing with or without the use of UAV's.”

Even if Metro doesn't take the plunge, new high tech capabilities are already ushering in a brave new world.

Sheriff Gillespie says non lethal weapons will make it safer to subdue suspects, mobile data terminals will be a boon to officers in the field and that police will have other surprises in their future arsenal, “Where police officers are actually going to be able to shut down cars that are in front of them that they are pursuing and they're not pulling over,” he said.

Law enforcement sources outside of Metro have confirmed to us that UAV's have already been used here in operational roles by more than one federal agency.

Sheriff Gillespie says that when Metro finally selects a UAV system for the department, it's not something that would be put into use every day — adding that the public will be given plenty of opportunity to sound off about it beforehand.

Email your comments to Chief Investigative Reporter George Knapp

Police are investigating the shooting death of a 15-year-old boy who died after he was shot in the stomach.

Police were called to an apartment in the 1400 block of North Sandhill Road near Owens on Tuesday afternoon. Detectives were told the victim had a gun and when another boy, a 17-year-old, attempted to take it from him, the gun went off.

The 17-year-old has not been arrested and the shooting is under investigation.

In two separate incidents, students brought guns to high schools in the valley Monday morning. The guns were found just minutes apart at Arbor View and Desert Pines High Schools.

A 16-year-old girl was taken into custody at Desert Pines High School for having a loaded small caliber gun in her backpack.

Across town, a 16-year-old boy was arrested for the same thing – carrying a loaded gun in his backpack.

Eyewitness News tried to talk to the 16-year-old girl's father who was called to campus. He said his daughter did nothing wrong.

The man didn't want to stop for our cameras or give us his name, but it's his daughter who Clark County School District Police say had a loaded gun in her backpack Monday morning.

She was handcuffed and put into a squad car before being taken to Juvenile Hall. Police say she did not display the gun or threaten to use it on anyone.

Alberto Sablam picked up his son from campus Monday and learned of the potential danger his son was in. “You feel for their safety, they could have died. Then what? You wanna start crying.”

Lt. Ken Young with the Clark County School District Police says it's too soon to know if either incident is gang related. “The schools are not related as far as the incident. The officers are still investigating to see if there are any gang ties or any gang reference to this.”

Police are crediting the quick thinking of students at Desert Pines and Arbor View for telling administrators their classmates had guns on campus. Monday's findings bring the total number of firearms found on campus this year to 11.

Both students are being charged with possession of a dangerous weapon on school property.

Email your comments to Reporter Chris Saldana.

School officials are investigating allegations that a high school basketball coach fixed grades to keep his players on the team. The grade-fixing allegations were made last month by two parents. 

Coach Jerraye Floyd led the boys varsity basketball team at Desert Pines High School to a 16 win, seven-loss season. But he won't be leading the team at their playoff games next week because school officials have bounced him off of the team.

One parent, who asked to remain anonymous, says his son's basketball coach was out of line. “What he directly said to me is that he would go talk to my son's teacher and attempt to get his grades changed.” said the parent who was shocked by the coach's offer.

“People get it mistaken. They are student-athletes, not athlete-students. So I felt they were taking advantage of the kids athletic abilities, and I don't approve of that,” he said.

When another parent claimed coach Jerraye Floyd had arranged for one of his son's grades to be improved, the two fathers cried foul.

“There's only a few things that can really get you in trouble with the school district and certainly dishonestly is one of them,” said Dr. Tim Stephens, Desert Pines High School principal. He immediately launched an investigation.

One grade had been changed to improve a player's grade point average. Stephens removed coach Floyd from the team, though he continues to teach physical education.

“It is a shame when something like this comes about and kind of tries to tarnish the reputation  but fortunately we were notified, we took quick action on it and we'll see how the investigation pans out,” said Stephens.

One parent's allegations were not proven but he says his son will be focusing on books not basketball for the rest of the year.

“It's been going on for a very long time around the country and it takes certain people to step up and say they don't approve of it because in the long run it hurts the student-athlete and that's what I do not want to happen to my child.”

Principal Stephens says there's no evidence any other grades were changed, so the team's record will stay intact. But both the school and the state's athletics association continue to investigate both Jerraye Floyd and another teacher who may have been involved.

Click here to email reporter Adriennne Augustus.

A woman in her 20s died Monday morning in a crash involving her vehicle and an Albertsons' truck. It happened at Las Vegas Boulevard and Sloan just after 2 a.m.

Las Vegas Boulevard was closed for about six hours while crews investigated.

Police say the woman died before authorities arrived. So far it does not look like speed or alcohol were factors in the crash.

One robbery suspect is on the loose and another is in the hospital after four victims fought back.

Police say the four victims were barbecuing when two men with guns entered the home. One of the victims said he made a near-fatal mistake by leaving the garage door partially open. The victims, who do not want to be identified for safety reasons, say they ended up fighting for their lives and thought they might die.

“The look in their eyes, especially when they started beating us in the back of the heads with the guns. It was kind of like someone would torture a little animal and then joking about how they were going to love killing us,” said one victim.

The men were pinned to the floor with shotguns. “It got ugly when they went back downstairs and decided to tell the women to undress their clothes,” the victim added, ”The girls were really crying and you could just tell that they were incredibly upset.”

The victim told Eyewitness News that one of the suspects who was preparing to sexually assault the women turned his attention away from the guns and let down his guard.

The two male victims saw their opportunity.

“I grabbed him, threw him down on the ground, grabbed a weight from the weight set and smashed him in the head.”

The women also joined in the fight, hitting the suspects with a frying pan.

“One of the girls completely nude managed to grab a gun and shoot the guy in the chest area and in the leg.”

“She did what she had to do and I have to be thankful that she was able to do what she did and if she didn't I might not be able to give you this story right now.”

The suspect who was shot has serious injuries and is in the hospital. The second suspect is on the run and as for the victims, they have minor injuries.

The police are very cautious not to make this seem like a heroic act. They say fighting back can sometimes end with the victims being more seriously hurt.

To email reporter Jonathan Humbert, click here.