NJ schools to increase security after mass shooting of students in Texas
Schools throughout New Jersey will have added security Wednesday in response to the deadly mass shooting at an elementary school in Texas on Tuesday.
Acting Attorney General Matt Platkin said state police will increase their presence at the schools where troopers are the primary law enforcement, while county prosecutors will direct municipal departments to do the same.
An 18-year-old gunman, identified as Salvador Ramos, shot and killed 19 students and two adults Tuesday at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. It is the deadliest school shooting since Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut a decade ago.
"Nothing about this is normal. We do not have to accept that we live in a country where children are shot just for going to school," Platkin said in a statement. "My heart goes out to the families of the victims, and we must all do everything we can to end the epidemic of gun violence."
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Gov. Phil Murphy plans to hold a press conference on the shooting in Trenton on Wednesday. He's pushed fellow Democrats who control the Legislature to pass another round of gun control laws, including a ban on .50-caliber rifles and requiring firearm safety training for new owners.
Murphy has signed two rounds of gun safety measures since taking office in 2018 but he hasn't gotten enough support for his latest package of bills.
"This moment demands that our Legislature finally take action. This legislation will not only make it harder for guns to fall into the wrong hands, but will also give law enforcement greater tools to protect communities — including our children — from gun violence," Murphy said in a statement Tuesday night.
“Let us not delay even one day more.”
Shooting deaths rose 44% between 2019 and 2020, from 158 to 228, according to state police data. Shooting deaths have increased 12% since then, with 244 in 2021, according to the data.
Since Murphy took office in 2018, gun killings have risen 33%, according to the data.
Dustin Racioppi is a reporter in the New Jersey Statehouse. For unlimited access to his work covering New Jersey’s governor and political power structure, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
Email: racioppi@northjersey.com
Twitter: @dracioppi
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Texas elementary school shooting leads to increased security in NJ
