BEAUMONT, Texas — The Uvalde shooting has forced school districts large and small to take a tough look at security.
The tragedy placed a huge spotlight on active shooter drills like the one Wednesday at West Brook High School in Beaumont.
The Beaumont Police SWAT team partnered with Beaumont Independent School District police so that officers could train together and coordinate their responses.
Beaumont ISD Police Chief Joseph Malbrough said they do these trainings every summer, but Uvalde has them enhancing their safety procedures.
With guns drawn, officers from Beaumont Police SWAT and Beaumont ISD police descended on West Brook High School to train for an active shooter.
"With the incidents, active shooter incidents that have impacted our schools we’re now having to re-address that issue and make sure that we're doing everything possible to ensure the safety of our students and our staffs," Malbrough said.
Malbrough said students and staff will find enhanced safety measures this well.
For example, visitors will have one point of entry.
"We are hardening our campuses so that intruders do not have easy access into the building," Malbrough said.
Malbrough said they'll have more officers at campuses this fall plus metal detectors, and closed-circuit cameras inside and out.
All this is in addition to a Texas Education Agency mandate.
It requires all Texas school districts to perform a summer safety audit after Uvalde.
That includes checking locks on 340-thousand outside doors.
"We're presently now going through all that information so that we can ensure that we are prepared and that we are meeting that standard," Malbrough said.
As for this active shooter training, Beaumont Police Chief Jimmy Singletary said it's crucial for multiple agencies to train together.
"In Uvalde, so many different agencies showed up and we love for them to have the same type of training so they'll know the goals, the tactics, and the way the other officers will act," Singletary said.
Malbrough said if an active shooter situation arises, he wants parents to know their kids will be as safe as possible.
"We want to ensure that our children, they understand that we're doing everything possible to ensure that they have a conducive and safe environment for learning as well as for our teachers to be able to educate them," Malbrough said.
Beaumont Police are also encouraging businesses to participate in active shooter training.
If you're interested contact officer Danny Valdez at (409) 654-3602 to take part in active shooter training.
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