CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — After the tragedy in Uvalde, the way the community feels about safety measures in schools has changed forever… especially in Texas.
Just Monday afternoon, 3NEWS reported that a student brought a gun to Hamlin Middle School, proving that in times like these, it is extremely important to be proactive.
In an effort to be less reactive and more proactive, a grant from the Texas Legislature, led by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, is funding protective shields for every peace officer in the State of Texas working in a school. $50 million has been reserved for this grant. Corpus Christi ISD Chief Kirby Warnke stood before CCISD’s school board for support in buying those shields, saying you have to be prepared for anything.
Janie Bell, President of the CCISD school board, is grateful that if an event escalates, the CCISD Police Department will have the resources they need to keep staff and students safe.
“We have all the safeguards in place in our school, but then also you have your CCISD PD, we want them to be safe as well,” Bell said. “Lt. Gov. Patrick has okayed a grant to the schools to provide these shields for police, if there were to be an incident that they had to respond to. So we were very thankful for that,” Bell said.
Warnke believes in being proactive rather than reactive.
“We’re cultivating a culture of see something, say something,” Warnke said.
Monday afternoon, a student was found with a gun at Hamlin Middle School. The gun was found after a student made a report to administration that another student was in possession of a “dangerous weapon”.
“The students and staff are taking steps to empower themselves to keep the campus safe,” Warnke said. “Which is really what we’re looking for. So that was a success story, in that we acted very quickly and kept the school safe.”
Warnke said the force wants to be involved, and wants to continue being engaged with the community.
“If you have information, share it with law enforcement,” Warnke said. “If you don’t want to come to law enforcement, share it with campus leadership. Or if you’re at a venue, share it with leadership at the venue, they’ll come talk to us.”
The district is looking to get just under $200,000 of this grant for the shields, in order to serve and protect staff and students.
More from 3News on KIIITV.com:
- Student brought gun to Hamlin Middle School, officials say
- Gun confiscated from student at Calallen High School
- Services for a hero: Texas World War II airman laid to rest Monday, 77 years after his combat death
- Corpus Christi resident was on vacation in London when news broke of Queen Elizabeth II's death
- Gov. Abbott scheduled to visit Coastal Bend for 'Faith, Family, Freedom' rally
- Beto O'Rourke coming to Corpus Christi with civil rights leader Dolores Huerta
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