| Updated: 12/14/2012 11:17 pm |
Published: 12/14/2012 11:13 pm
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A nation is in shock and mourning after a gunman shoots and kills 27 people before turning the gun on himself.
Police say 20 elementary school children were killed in a mass shooting in Newton, Connecticut.
The tragedy has schools from across Green Country looking over their security measures.
"It just hits you in your heart," said Tulsa Public Schools Police Chief Gary Rudick.
He told FOX23 this shooting left wounds that may never heal.
"It's one of those things that scar you for life," he said.
Rudick says the officers are trained to rapidly respond to people carrying guns on school campuses. They will team up with Tulsa police and deputies within minutes to stop a shooter and save as many lives as possible.
"So, if someone comes in with a firearm and they are actively attacking people our first responsibility is to confront and eliminate the threat," Rudick said.
During their training, the officers will practice going into schools to stop a gunman.
"We train our officers to obviously, just like the officers in Connecticut did, immediately respond, attempt to go in, isolate and neutralize the threat," said TPD’s Special Operations Unit Captain Ryan Perkins.
He trains the law enforcers from across our area to be prepared for an active shooter. Rudick believes the bond passed in 2010 will also help them do that.
"By 2015 every school in the district will have those surveillance cameras and the open option door systems," Rudick told FOX23.
He says the new cameras and lock system will allow the person at the school’s front desk to identify the person at the door before buzzing them in. Perkins says police will learn from the tragedy on how to better protect students.
"We're doing everything we can to be able to better next time, to save one more life or intercede earlier," he said.
Kendall Whittier Elementary school is the only elementary school in TPS to have a security guard. Rudick told FOX23, so far this year they have not recovered any guns from students. He says last year during this time, police had recovered five weapons.
