New York officials taking steps to protect schools in wake of Texas elementary school shooting
ALBANY, N.Y. -- Gov. Kathy Hochul directed New York State Police to increase patrols and conduct daily check-ins at schools in wake of the deadly shooting in Uvalde, Texas.
"I want state police patrols visiting our schools, doing daily check-ins every single day from today until the end of the school year," she announced Wednesday.
The governor said she held an emergency meeting with state police Wednesday morning.
"We're still mourning the 10 lives taken in Buffalo. Now our entire country is mourning the tragic loss of babies in yet another school shooting," she tweeted. "These tragedies must be a wake-up call. It's long past time for a nationwide response to this crisis."
New York City also announced steps to keep guns out of schools.
Mayor Eric Adams, NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell and Schools Chancellor David Banks held a joint briefing, where the mayor showed three guns school safety officers recently found in schools. He said they have recovered 20 guns in schools since the start of the school year.
They want parents to get involved, and ask them to check their kids' bedrooms and backpacks for guns before they go to school.
"This is not blaming parents, and we don't want that message out. This is not saying parents are responsible for the crime we're seeing. Just the opposite," Adams said. "These guns are being placed in the hands of their babies, because of people who are dangerous to our city."
"One of the most crucial ways they ensure the safety of their schools is through the use of metal detectors," said NYPD First Deputy Commissioner Edward Caban. "At the end of last week, the NYPD school safety agents have recovered 5,546 dangerous instruments so far this year."
Hochul also said she plans to work with state lawmakers to raise the legal age from 18 to 21 to buy a semi-automatic rifle.
