Texas school shooting claims 21 lives

21 people lost their lives in a shooting at Robb Elementary School on May 24, 2022. Nineteen students and two teachers were killed in a barricaded classroom, with three students and the shooter's grandmother hospitalized.

Law enforcement responded to a crashed car near the school. The shooter, who had recently turned 18, had legally purchased two assault rifles and ammunition in the days before the attack, according to a briefing from state and federal officials.

The Texas school shooting is the 212th mass shooting in America since January 1, 2022, according to statistics from the Gun Violence Archive, which defines mass shootings as incidents in which four or more people have been shot. The Uvalde shooting is the 21st mass shooting in Texas in 2022, as well as the 27th school shooting that took place in the U.S. this year, according to NPR.

School security leaders weigh in

Michael Dorn, Executive Director of Safe Havens International, shared recommendations via LinkedIn for school security officials evaluating their emergency response plans in the aftermath of the Texas school shooting.

"I urge caution about emotionally marketed, canned and simplistic approaches — 'alphabet' approaches like Run, Hide, Fight etc.," said Dorn. "We now have compelling evidence that these approaches can and have caused increased casualties in multiple school shootings."

Guy Grace, Chairman of the Partner Alliance for Safer Schools (PASS) and former Director of Safety and Emergency Planning at Littleton Public Schools, emphasized the importance of mental health and care in the aftermath of a violent incident.

"I would like to convey to administrators, security and safety professionals, their team members, staff, students and families, how important it is to take care of themselves and each other during this time," said Grace. "The stress and anguish that comes from the aftermath of such major incidents can not be overstated, and it’s the mental health response going forward that as an industry we need to improve upon."

Mike Matranga, CEO of the M6 Global Defense Group, commented: "We as security professionals with practical experience in the field must unite and stand up, speak out and be willing to cross political lines, professional barriers and recognize that predictive behavioral analysis is needed in an effort to identify, treat and provide sustainable solutions for those on the path to violence."

Madeline Lauver is the Editor in Chief of Security magazine. Lauver joined Security in 2021 as its Assistant Editor, and she covers news affecting enterprise security leaders, including physical security, cybersecurity, leadership and management, risk and resilience and more. Within her role at Security, Lauver focuses on news articles, web exclusives, features and several departments for Security’s monthly digital edition, as well as managing social media and multimedia content. Lauver graduated in 2019 with a B.A. in English, German and Media Studies from Kalamazoo College.

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