Texas school shooting stokes Shore parents' fears, prompts extra patrols

UPDATE: This story has been updated to include comments from officials in the Holmdel, Toms River, Wall and Asbury Park School Districts.

Up and down Monmouth and Ocean counties Wednesday, school officials wracked their brains. What more can be done here, now?

“We can always get tighter on the drills and look at some other emergency situations,” said Scott Cascone, superintendent of Holmdel Schools. “We tend to have drills when all kids are in class, but we could do it at other times. We can look at what are the considerations.”

The officials were scrambling to respond to Tuesday's elementary school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, that left 19 children dead and once again rattled a nation plagued by mass violence.  There were already tangible signs of change outside Monmouth and Ocean schools Wednesday, many of which were familiar following previous mass shootings.

Police were stationed outside schools in places like Ocean Township. Parents welcomed the added security. And they worried if it was enough. Again.

“I feel like it can happen anywhere,” said Kristen Brophy-McCauley, who spoke after dropping off her 4- and 6-year-old at school. “Our school does the best they can, but I know what happened in Texas can happen anywhere.”

Matthew Scott, the father of a kindergartener agreed that worry is tough to shake. But he noted his child's school already has tight security that requires identification and checks upon entry — all things that have been put in place in school districts statewide as mass shootings became commonplace in the United States in recent decades.

“Every door is locked, and if I go to the office, they ask who I am,” Scott said. “It doesn’t concern me about security, but you never know, we need more mental health for people.”

More: Monmouth and Ocean counties to increase police at all schools after Texas school shooting

Security and police onsite daily

While school leaders did not deny the need for improvements, they echoed Scott. Many said that security and police are onsite daily and have helped keep similar incidents from occurring in the Garden State.

“I firmly believe that Toms River Regional Schools has the closest working relationship with local law enforcement of any school district around.” Toms River Superintendent Mike Citta said in a lengthy letter to parents Wednesday. “Our friends and colleagues at Toms River, Beachwood, Pine Beach, and South Toms River police departments are part of our school family, and work diligently to protect our communities, and that starts in and near our schools.”

Wall Township police issued a release detailing its “School Safety Initiative” that includes school resource police officers in each school, regular police patrols of school hallways, incident response and safety training for all school staff, and safety outreach and awareness programs.

Asbury Park Superintendent Rashawn Adams posted a three-minute video on Instagram advising parents that there would be an additional police presence at local schools, but also stressed the district’s ongoing policies that include armed school resource police officers in each building, emergency drills and staff training, as well as strict requirements for visitors.

“We take the safety of you and your students very seriously, our drills and other things that we do are important,” he said.

Immediately following the shooting in Texas, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Bilhimer and acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Lori Linskey each announced a heightened law enforcement presence at all schools in their respective jurisdictions on Tuesday.

Billhimer said he had been in contact with Ocean County Sheriff Michael G. Mastronardy and Lacey Police Chief Michael DiBella, president of the Ocean County Police Chiefs Association, as well as all local police departments in the county.

“The safety of our children, teachers and administrators is of paramount importance,” Billhimer said. “We will remain vigilant against any threat to our schools. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of the innocent victims of yet another senseless and depraved act of violence. We mourn with all of you.”

In a statement posted on its Facebook page, the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office said state authorities determined that the Texas shooting has no known connection to New Jersey. Nevertheless, the office recognized that  “it is wholly understandable that members of our local community here in Monmouth County may be feeling somewhat ill at ease.”

Parents' reaction to schools' safety m

Elsewhere, parents had mixed reactions to the deadly incident in Texas, with some believing their schools were safe, while others had increased concern in light of the latest school shooting and last week’s killings at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York.

“It’s scary, very scary,” said Loretta Brown of Neptune, who drove her granddaughter to middle school. “Dropping your child off you don’t know what is going to happen. It is safe here, but you need more police around more often.”

At one Asbury Park elementary school, parents also felt safe, but believed danger could occur at any time despite tight security.

More: 'It could have been me': Black, Jewish communities in Monmouth, Ocean counties on edge

“I think my kids are pretty safe here,” said Shirley Bochery, the mother of a first grader. “They have tight security, if they don’t know you, they don’t let you in.”

Fidelina Santiago agreed as she walked her 3- and 6-year-olds to the school: “It worries me sometimes, but I think they are safe.”

Still, Shirley Durand was nervous as she put her 3-year-old son, Rowshawn, on the bus outside their Mattison Avenue home for his daily trip to a pre-K program.

“Of course it worries me, these kids have too much access to guns,” she said. “It makes you worried to send your child to school. It should not be this way.,”

Increased police presence

Meanwhile, police and school officials in several communities issued advisories that more officers were on patrols in and near schools.

“In light of the tragic events which occurred in Texas yesterday, there will be an increased in police presence at all LBPS schools,” Long Branch school officials stated online. “Grief counselors are available for our students, parents, staff and community.”

Toms River's  Citta issued a similar advisory to parents, declaring "there will be a heightened police presence around our school buildings in the coming days and weeks. This does not reflect any threat to our schools but is an added precaution at this time for us and other area districts, so please be aware."

Barnegat Police Chief Keith Germain offered a lengthy Facebook note, stating in part, “Of course we'll be there at the school today when your child arrives. We'll be walking through the schools at random times throughout the day, and we'll be there at dismissal. But what we want you to know is that these aren't things we just do today, or for a few days, or for the month.”

He later added, “as a parent, I know the worry of sending them out the door. But as a student of the pre-Columbine era, I can't begin to imagine the worry and anxiety that our kids feel today. We'll do everything we can to help alleviate that by continuing to be present, visible and vigilant.”

Joe Strupp is an award-winning journalist with 30 years’ experience who covers education and several local communities for APP.com and the Asbury Park Press. He is also the author of three books, including "Killing Journalism" on the state of the news media, and an adjunct media professor at Rutgers University and Fairleigh Dickinson University. Reach him at jstrupp@gannettnj.com and at 732-413-3840. Follow him on Twitter at @joestrupp

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Texas school shooting: NJ schools add extra security amid parent fears