(WWJ/AP) The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office reiterated its policy for responding to active shooter situations in the wake of the mass shooting at a Texas elementary school that killed 19 children and two adults.
“If we arrive on a similar scene our job is to go in without delay, locate and neutralize an active shooter,” Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard said. “I will either go in first, by your side or at your six, depending on our arrival times…this is not the time to question whether or not this job choice is for you.”
The statement was originally made after yet another school shooting that occurred in Parkland, Florida on Valentine’s Day of 2018, and reiterated again after last week’s shooting in Uvalde.
Deputies put it into practice when a similar tragedy happened in our own backyard, at Oxford High School on November 30th, according to a more recent statement from State Police.
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“The Oxford gunman was found, neutralized, and he was taken into custody within minutes of the Deputies' arrival on scene,” they said in that statement.
Four students died in the attack—Hana St. Juliana, 14, Madisyn Baldwin, 17, Tate Myre, 16, and Justin Shilling, 17. At least seven more were injured.
The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office said there could have been many more deaths if not for a swift response.
“The gunman…was found with 18 unspent rounds in his possession,” they said in the statement.
In the 2018 press release—Bouchard wrote of active shooter situations: “In these moments, we must not only be the best trained and equipped, but unwavering in our willingness to face any threat.”
The Oakland County Sheriff's reiteration of its active shooter policy comes as authorities reveal more information about what happened during the shooting Tuesday at Robb Elementary School, about 80 miles west of San Antonio.
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The Texas Department of Public Safety told the Associated Press (AP) that students at Robb Elementary tried to call 911 multiple times as officers waited for more than an hour in the hallway before entering the classroom. The AP reported the district’s police chief “decided officers should wait to confront the gunman on the belief he was barricaded inside adjoining classrooms and children were no longer at risk.”
“Obviously, it was the wrong decision,” Steven McCraw, the head of the Texas Department of Public Safety, said at a news conference Friday.
19 children--Neveah Bravo, Jacklyn Cazeres, Makenna Elrod, Jose Flores Jr., Eliana Garcia, Uziyah Garcia, Amerie Garza, Jayce Luevanos, Xavier Lopez, Tess Mata, Maranda Mathis, Alithia Ramirez, Annabell Rodriguez, Maite Rodriguez, Alexandria Rubio, Layla Salazar, Jailah Silguero, Eliahana Torres , and Rojelio Torres – died that day. They were 10 and eleven years old.
Two teachers—Eva Mireles and Irma Garcia—also laid down their lives to protect their students from the gunfire, according to witnesses.