Parents and school staff across the country are reacting to the news coverage of the 24-year-old gunman who reported killed 18 children between the ages of five and ten years at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut this morning.
"The senseless and cowardly shooting in Connecticut reminds us all of the vigilance we must maintain to protect our children in their schools," said Texas Senator John Cornyn. "I pray for the victims, their families and the Newtown community as they deal with this horrendous tragedy."
Newtown, a beautiful city with typical New England charm, will now be remembered with the likes of Columbine, Virigina Tech and Loveland as a site of tragedy.
Located about an hour and a half of New York City, authorities now indicate the killer first walked into the classroom of his mother, a teacher, and shot her.
One first grade teacher told ABC News that when she heard the rapid fire that sounded like "an assault weapon" she gathered her students and they hid in a classroom bathroom together. As the students prayed or thought "happy thoughts" the teacher told them how much she loved them and was proud they were her students.
Later, after police slid their badges under the door, the teacher elected not to open the door until the police to unlock it from the outside, just to be certain.
Cornyn, a board member of the Texas School Safety Center, stated he is "committed to making sure educators, students and law enforcement are working together to prepare Texas schools for the unthinkable."
"We must not wait until it's too late to act," Cornyn said. "We remind all schools to review their school safety plan to ensure they have proper procedures to keep students and campuses safe."
A list of resources is available at https://www.oag.state.tx.us/criminal/schoolsafety.shtml.
Information includes Campus Safety Audit Toolkit, School Safety Guide, a School Safety Video and other resources.
