‘Emotions and heartbreak’

Magee’s statement was one of many to be sent out locally following Tuesday’s shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, which left 19 students and two teachers dead just before the semester was slated to end this Thursday. The mass shooting marked the 27th to occur this year and came just more than a week after 10 Black shoppers were killed during a shooting in Buffalo, New York, and a Southern California shooting at a Taiwanese Presbyterian church that left one person dead and five injured.

Looking to provide support to the Robb Elementary School community, the Millbrae School District will begin accepting donations of toys for Uvalde children or gift cards from Target, Walmart or Visa for families of the victims during a candlelight vigil 7:15 p.m. Thursday at Shea Center Courtyard at Taylor Middle School through the middle of next week.

School districts react

Superintendent Debra French said she wants the focus to remain on Robb Elementary School while also providing a safe space for students after struggling through the pandemic. Student support from administrators and counselors was also increased during school hours Wednesday, French said.

“I’m a mom first and I can’t even express the depth of sorrow that fills my heart for those families who sent their babies to school and won’t get to hug them again,” French said. “The big thing I’m thinking about are the children who witnessed it and survived. How do we wrap our arms around them? The survivors are in a whole new world.”

Student support services were also increased at the San Carlos School District, Superintendent Jennifer Frentress said in a message to her school community Wednesday morning. In addition to on-site counselors for students, Frentress offered her own time and other resource information to parents and guardians also in need.

Frentress also highlighted a number of safety procedures in place on all district campuses including a strong mental health and counseling team, monthly drills and a collaborative partnership with the Sheriff’s Office and school resource officers.

“Words cannot describe the emotions and heartbreak we are all feeling regarding the tragedy that took place at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas,” Frentress said. “Gun violence continues to plague this country. In moments such as these, we are reminded how gun violence creates unnecessary stress and trauma for our kids and within our schools. … Our children’s safety is a community commitment. We are all in this together.”

In a video message sent out Wednesday, Burlingame School District Superintendent Chris Mount-Benites shared his condolences to the Uvalde community and disappointment in the growing prevalence of school shootings.

The trend has substantially altered the types of preparedness trainings conducted by school communities, Mount-Benites said, noting active shooter drills have replaced earthquake safety practices he remembers from his childhood.

“Sadly, in my 27 years [as an educator], this is what we prepare for now and we can never adequately prepare,” Mount-Benites said. “We hate it and it’s tiring and we worry about it and until our country does something differently about it and treats it differently sadly we will continue to worry.”

Shawnterra Moore, superintendent of South San Francisco Unified School District, responded to news of the shooting by likening it to an attack on democracy in a letter to her school community.

“Education is the cornerstone of democracy. As educators, we provide students with the tools that will enable them to participate as future members of our democratic society, and we work with parents to help lay a foundation for children’s future success,” Moore said. “The recent shooting in Uvalde, Texas, is an inexcusable act of violence committed against children and their families that wounds our democracy. Our hearts are with the families of the victims, as we send hope and healing to the community of Uvalde.”

Electeds weigh in

Other local leaders also shared their condolences and outrage. In a statement, San Mateo Police Chief Ed Barberini stressed the importance of protecting San Mateo County’s children. Despite the absence of an active threat, the department is working with local school districts and the Office of Education to discuss safety plans and proactive measures.

The department also called for parents to familiarize themselves with The Big Five, a series of common safety measures adopted by all county school districts and law enforcement agencies that were drafted by the county’s Coalition for Safe Schools and Communities after 26 students at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, in 2012.

“This tragic incident serves as a stark reminder that we must work collaboratively to ensure the safety of our children. The San Mateo Police Department remains committed to working with local school districts, public safety agencies, parents, children and all our residents to ensure the well-being of our young people,” Barberini said.

During a press conference, Gov. Gavin Newsom alongside Senate President pro Tempore Toni G. Atkins, D-San Diego, and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, D-Lakewood, vowed to expedite state legislation aimed at reducing gun violence.

Supervisor David Canepa lauded Newsom’s announcement in a press release while also pushing for more to be done at the federal level to prevent gun violence.

“Americans continue to fail our children by allowing them to be killed in mass shootings at schools. It’s like our schools are becoming hunting grounds for sadistic killers,” Canepa said. “This problem, though, will never be solved on a national level until gun-loving Republicans take off their blindfolds and see in real time that when we allow guns to be easily accessed by madmen that the consequences are so tragic it ripples the very core of our democracy and create almost incomprehensible fear.”

U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Palo Alto, called for holding gun lobbying groups accountable in her statement condemning the Uvalde shooting in which she argued “this can end if the American people insist that it does because the gun lobby is not more important than our nation’s children.”

But progress has been slow and in some cases regressive, U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said during a Judiciary Committee hearing regarding a new director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Since the Assault Weapons Ban expired in 2004 gun massacres rose by 183% after falling 37% when the ban was in place, Feinstein said, who recently introduced the Age 21 Act which would raise the legal age to purchase a firearm to 21. Feinstein also argued that efforts to implement gun restrictions on people who pose an extreme risk to others have faced sustained and strong opposition despite continued shootings and loopholes to purchase firearms remain in domestic violence laws.

“We seem to lack the will even to keep weapons away from those who we know are dangerous,” Feinstein said. “Rather than taking action, all we have done, time and time again, is to try to console the victims of these senseless tragedies and wait for the next inevitable attack. And we know that it will come.”

sierra@smdailyjournal.com

(650) 344-5200 ext. 106