Bay Area authorities promise increased patrols at schools after Texas mass shooting
SAN FRANCISCO -- Authorities in a number of Bay Area cities on Tuesday said they would increase patrols in the areas around schools in the wake of the mass shooting that left at least 19 people dead at a Texas elementary school.
The San Francisco Unified School District announced in a statement that the SFPD planned to "have an increased police presence around schools from now until the end of the school year next Wednesday, June 1."
"We share the grief and concern following the mass shooting at an elementary school in Texas. This is a tragic and senseless event and we are keeping the victims' families in our hearts," the statement said in addition to outlining safety protocols currently in effect at San Francisco public schools.
The Oakland Unified School District also posted about the shooting, with Superintendent Dr. Kyla Johnson-Trammell saying that she was "at a complete loss."
"I was hopeful after the horrifying Sandy Hook shooting in 2012 that the resulting groundswell of public support for meaningful change to gun laws would put a stop to this wave of violent insanity. But in the ten years since, there has been no substantive change across the country," Trammell said in the statement.
OUSD Holds the People of Uvalde, Texas in Our Hearts, and We Call for Changehttps://t.co/gOA8K3pSC8 pic.twitter.com/doezkykJF8
— ousdnews (@OUSDNews) May 25, 2022
Shortly after 6 p.m., Contra Costa County Sheriff David O. Livingston posted two tweets regarding the shooting.
"On behalf of the Contra Costa Sheriff's Office, our deepest condolences to the families and friends of the Uvalde, Texas school shooting victims. Our thoughts are also with the community and first responders," the first tweet read.
The second tweet noted that the sheriff would be increasing patrols around all schools even though "there were no known threats" in the department's jurisdiction.
(2/2) Although there are no known threats in Contra Costa Sheriff's Office jurisdiction, I have ordered additional patrols around all of our schools.
— Contra Costa Sheriff (@CoCoSheriff) May 25, 2022
Additionally, the Mountain View Police Department tweeted later Tuesday evening that it would "have high visibility patrols at our schools tomorrow out of an abundance of caution."
There are no words to describe what we feel seeing and hearing the news out of Texas today.
— Mountain View Police (@MountainViewPD) May 25, 2022
Operationally, we will have high visibility patrols at our schools tomorrow out of an abundance of caution.
Personally, we’re going to be hugging our children extra tight tonight. pic.twitter.com/ObPZsF3Hwz