AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas legislators on Monday passed a plan sponsored by the former mayor of Uvalde. Rob Elementary School Shooting In 2022, the bill was sent out on Governor’s Day before the third anniversary of the massacre.
19 students and two teachers were killed and 18 injured Worst School Shooting In American history. Saturday is the anniversary of the attack.
The measure, given final approval by the state senator and sent to Gov. Greg Abbott, is called the “Uvalde Strong Act,” aims to correct the slow, often chaotic law enforcement response issues that day with better training and coordination between the agency and basic equipment requirements.
Approximately 400 local, state and federal officers I’ve been waiting for over an hour Forces their way into the classroom where the gunman had been before killing him. A horrible student in the classroom is called 911 for his parents begging the officer. Some of them could be heard being fired while standing in the hallway.
First-year Republican Rep. Don McLaughlin, the author of the bill, was then mayor of Uvalde and was critical of the law enforcement response that day.
“The Uvalde Strong Act is intended to correct the breakdown of communications and coordination exposed during the Robb Elementary School shooting,” McLaughlin said. “This is about keeping our schools safer… We owe it to take truly important actions to our families.”
The bill requires school districts and law enforcement to meet each year to develop a response plan for aggressive shooters, requiring officers on how to respond to active shooters in elementary and middle schools.
This measure also requires strengthening interagency incident command training and mutual assistance contracts.
School districts must have at least one breaches tool and ballistic shield available on each campus. The bill also requires emergency medical service providers to submit reports if they are called into an active shooter scene.
Several studies of law enforcement responses have discovered training, communication, leadership and technology issues, questioning whether executives prioritized their lives over children and teachers.
Former Uvalde School District Police Chief Pete Aredondo and former school police officer Adrian Gonzalez have been charged with multiple counts of child extinction and abandonment. Both have pleaded not guilty and are scheduled to go to trial in October.
The victim’s family has filed several pending cases in federal and state courts. $500 million lawsuit to Texas State Police officials and officers.
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