Schools all over the country announced Wednesday new safety protocols in the wake Monday’s mass shooting at Robb Elementary school in Uvalde Texas. The gunman, an 18-year old, killed 19 children and 2 teachers.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott confirmed that Salvador Ramos was killed by a Border Patrol officer and thanked law enforcement for their “amazing courage” in running to gunfire to save lives.
A bulletin containing new rules that will “effectively immediately” is available on the Buffalo Public Schools website. Buffalo is also mourning the mass shooting that occurred at Top’s grocery last week, where a White supremacist claimed to have killed 10 and injured three people.
According to the Buffalo Schools statement, “To ensure safety for all, each of our school sites will keep their doors locked during school hours.” There are cameras at each school site’s front entrance. To be allowed to buzz into a school, visitors, parents and caregivers must announce their names and the name of their child. Visitors may be asked to leave the school by being searched for safety reasons. For an indeterminate amount of time, the Buffalo Police Department or Buffalo Public Schools Security personnel will be present at schools and surrounding areas.
San Antonio school districts also have new safety protocols. Many of these include an increased presence of police on campuses.
Alamo Heights Independent Schools District stated that “Tomorrow, in an abundance of caution,” they will have a police presence on all campuses. “Although no threats are known to any of our schools,” the Alamo Heights Independent School District stated. All events at the end of the year will go ahead as planned.”
Eduardo Hernandez, Edgewood ISD Superintendent for Schools, also stated in a statement that additional officers would be assigned to the campuses until the end of this school year.
Hernandez stated, “I want the EISD community to be reassured that student safety in Edgewood ISD will be top priority.” The EISD Police Department patrols 16 miles of the district every day, as part of the preventive measures that were taken before today’s tragic events. They will also be more visible and present on our campuses with an increased frequency. EISD is against violence.
Heroux tweeted, “We have funded and placed a gunshot detector system at all 9 of the city schools; the new highschool will have the ninth system.” We are still setting up the system at the new high school. When triggered by a shot, these gunshot detection systems notify the police and all other people on the notification list immediately. We save lives by reducing the time it takes for police to arrive.
Heroux stated that the technology is identical to the one used in the White House as well as the Pentagon.
Heroux said that the Attleboro Police Department also conducts active shooting training. This allows police to simulate what to do in an emergency if there’s an active shooter at one of our schools.
South San Antonio Independent Schools District has announced that backpacks are not allowed on campuses in the coming days. Campus accessibility will only be restricted to parents or guardians who have proper identification.
Many other school districts in the country have also announced safety measures.
