Humble, TX (KTRK) – Classes are now in full session in and around the state, and the only thing at the top of the list is school safety, especially for a modest charter school district.
Humble ISD and other agencies such as The Sheriff’s Office, Precinct 4 and Humble Police carried out their training at the empty Kingwood Middle School on Sunday.
ABC13 was the only news station there that saw the plan implemented.
It comes after the Ovaldi, Texas tragedy, in which a gunman went to Robb Elementary School and shot and killed two teachers and 19 students on May 24.
Related: Ovaldi residents question new school district safety plans for the first school year since the mass shooting
The school shooting also revealed the delayed response of law enforcement, which has come under intense scrutiny.
The humble ISD chief, Solomon Cook, said his officers would prepare themselves for anything.
“This is not going to happen at Humble ISD,” Cook said. “Our staff is trained to stop the killing.”
Watch here: ABC’s Brock Taylor talks with the Chief of Humble ISD
All school district officers must go through mock shooting scenarios. Inside the training, officers went through multiple simulation regimes, such as breaking through class doors and bringing down the shooter.
“We want to make sure we’re prepared for any situation. Even though we hold the keys, there may be a lock that can be changed or broken. We want to make sure nothing is stopping us from getting in and stopping the killing,” Chief said.
The district has 48,000 students on 47 campuses with about 50 school officers. If necessary, the surrounding law enforcement will be able to respond in the event of an emergency.
“We are going through several scenarios if we have to test these security measures if there is an active attack here,” President Cook said.
While Chief Cook, president of the Texas School District Police Chiefs’ Association, is confident his officers are prepared in any situation, that’s not the case for everyone, including the Houston Independent School District, the state’s largest.
HISD Superintendent Millard House II left parents in shock after stating that HISD officers were not prepared in the event of an active shooting scenario in August.
“Since we studied the Ovaldi scenario and the appropriate preparation, the officers would not be prepared,” House said.
To better train and prepare officers, the HISD Board of Directors has approved $2 million to purchase new equipment, such as tactical gear.
See also: HISD asks school board to fund police equipment for active responses to attack
The state of Texas requires all campus police officers to have active shooting training. But there is no standard for how regularly an officer is trained, which makes it a one-time requirement.
“Practice always helps,” Cook explained. “We want to make sure our employees are well-informed and ready.”
Watch: The humble ISD chief responds to Uvalde’s law enforcement response:
According to reports, Ovaldi police underwent active shooting training two months before the mass shooting.
“Obviously something in their system didn’t work,” Cook said. “Something broke.”
The president says he hopes his district’s work will set an example for others to follow.
“Sometimes those districts have to look deep and decide what they can cut out of the budget, and what they can do to support their police department to protect their children,” Cook said.
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