UVALDE MURDERS: Cooke Co. schools, police chiefs, politicians weigh in

Mike Eads And Anna Beall, Gainesville Daily Register, Texas
·5 min read

May 27—Cooke County officials weighed in this week with their thoughts about the tragic murders of 19 children and two teachers Tuesday in Uvalde.

"I'm just at a loss for words, you know, especially in light of hearing about yesterday's school shooting. It definitely has kept me up last night you know, because the grim reality is that could have been anywhere you know, that could have been Gainesville, that could have been Nocona, that could have been Era, Lindsay. And so it really tugs on our hearts as superintendents, because we're charged not only with educating the minds of the future, but we're also charged with protecting our most precious assets and that's our kids," said DesMontes Stewart, superintendent of Gainesville Independent School District (GISD).

"Me personally, being the father of three girls, it's hard to put my emotion into words, being that many of those families got up in the morning and wished their youngsters well, took them off to school or send them off to school, not knowing that that will be the last day that they will see their children alive," Stewart added in a Wednesday interview with the Register.

Stewart said security at GISD buildings is an ongoing priority.

"Even prior to this situation, safety and security has been one of my major focuses, even before this most recent school shooting. Many of those items were outlined in our last bond election, as far as trying to do some things to try to help upgrade our security on our campuses," he said. "So what we're doing now is using our limited resources as a district to take care of those items, whether it's secure vestibules or new camera systems, the door locking mechanisms: we're going to be taking a hard look at all of that. The downside to that is number one, it takes money, and so, we're going to have to plan this students and retaking buildings.

Training

Nicole Shaw, Police Chief at North Central Texas College, said she and her officers train regularly with Gainesville police, GISD officers and the Cooke County Sheriff's Department. They practice responses to school shootings, including essential tasks as interagency communication, clearing teachers and students and retaking buildings.

Gainesville Police Chief Kevin Phillips told the Register that these local agencies met last week to plan a new exercise. Such in-person coordination and training has been hampered over the last two years due to COVID-19 restrictions, but Shaw said there has been some online training.

"You don't want to meet someone when the event's happening," said Shaw, a 22-year police veteran who came to NCTC in 2018. "You know, you want to be friends. You want to make friends way before that. So that's why we do that."

Students are allowed to carry guns on the NCTC campus, per state law. Shaw said there haven't been any threats of gun violence on her watch, but there are times when her officers are called in by instructors concerned about a student carrying a firearm.

"We would rather err on the side of caution at all times," Shaw explained. "So if an instructor comes to me and one of my officers and has a problem with anyone for any reason, we work with that instructor. 'What do you want to happen? Like what? You see this person way more than we do. How do you want to go about and handle this?'"

Teachers and students are briefed on how to handle active shooter situations, Shaw said. Each classroom has a small kit mounted next to the door with a metal doorstop. That stop has a special slot in the floor for quick installation. Once it's in place, Shaw said the door won't open or close. People in the room then need to turn off lights, close the window shades and rely on the block walls and solid door to protect them.

Solutions?

Gov. Greg Abbott and other leading Texas Republicans, including State Sen. Drew Springer (R-Muenster), insisted Wednesday that stepped up gun control laws weren't the answer; rather, the state should look at increased mental health spending and programs targeting schools.

"They have it (gun control) in Chicago and New York ... it doesn't stop the bad doers from gaining access to guns," Springer told the Register. "I think it comes back to that we don't have enough access to mental health. We're not identifying people that are showing signs. We put $115 million in this last (legislative) session for schools and just general mental health."

Rep. Michael Burgess (R-Texas) represents Cooke County as part of his 26th Congressional District. He didn't make himself available to the Register for an interview, but his staff emailed the following statement to the newspaper:

"Last night, during a Fox News interview, I shared how this horrific tragedy will be with Uvalde for the rest of their lives. I do want to help provide solutions, which is why Congressman Drew Ferguson and I have been pushing for the BIG Act (Behavioral Intervention Guideline Act) to become law. This legislation provides communities and schools with best practices for behavioral health intervention training and services. Also, I remember the effort put forward by Chief Cairney at the Argyle ISD. He offered a voluntary training for staff, and I believe it is a program that could be copied in other locations. I realize that's not the total answer but that does seem like an important part of this."