Taking care of our students and our staff and our security is of utmost importance to us, the board of trustees, and the investment that we have made here is phenomenal. And we are going to see results. I know and I hope we never, ever, ever have to do this for real, but we need to be ready.
BROWNSVILLE — It is a scenario that no college or university wants to deal with on its campus.
A shooter has entered a building where there are students, professors and staff. Shots have been fired. Injuries have been reported.
Local, state and federal authorities participated in a drill Wednesday at Texas Southmost College to learn their strengths and weaknesses should they have to respond to an actual active shooter situation.
The drill consisted of two shooters entering a classroom and injuring students and a law enforcement officer.
During the drill, students evacuated the building and law enforcement officers carried out the injured. They also escorted one of the alleged shooters from the building in handcuffs.
“Taking care of our students and our staff and our security is of utmost importance to us, the board of trustees, and the investment that we have made here is phenomenal. And we are going to see results. I know and I hope we never, ever, ever have to do this for real, but we need to be ready,” said Adela G. Garza, chair of the TSC Board of Trustees, at a press conference held prior to the drill.
Participating in the drill was the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Police Department, Brownsville’s police and fire departments, Texas Department of Public Safety, U.S. Border Patrol, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Cameron County Sheriff’s Department, the Brownsville Independent School District Police Department, Allied Universal Service, City of Weslaco fire and EMS departments, and Texas Southmost College Office of Environmental Health, Safety and Risk Management, as well as TSC school counselors.
To keep students, faculty, staff, and visitors safe on the TSC campus, the college invested $1.8 million in security cameras, surveillance, and equipment “to not only monitor facilities but our employees – our most precious assets our employees, our Scorpions, our students and anybody who comes into TSC,” Garza said.
Jesus Roberto Rodriguez, TSC president, said TSC was making history Wednesday because it is the first full-time jurisdictional emergency response, full-scale exercise at TSC with local, state and federal entities involved.
Rodriguez said preparing for Wednesday’s drill was a year-long process that included planning of meetings and discussions “to obtain a better understanding of how the agencies will respond when Texas Southmost College, God forbid, has a mass emergency situation.”
According to BestColleges.com, since 1966 there have been 12 mass shootings at college campuses where more than three people were killed. Outside of mass shootings, there have been over 300 instances of gunfire on college campuses, killing 94 people and injuring 215.
The first reported mass shooting at a college campus happened Aug. 1, 1966, at The University of Texas at Austin, where a shooter killed 15 people and injured 31 others.
The most recent mass shooting at a college campus happened Feb. 13 of this year, where a shooter opened fire in two buildings at Michigan State University, killing three students and wounding at least five others.
The recent tragic events in Uvalde and Michigan have “forever changed the dynamics of school safety and security,” Cameron County District Attorney Luis V. Saenz said. “While our national and state political leaders continue to get mired in discussions, TSC has moved beyond that, and TSC is active.”
Saenz said the goal of all law enforcement agencies, regardless of the color of the uniforms the officers wear, is to provide a safe community for children and others.
“It’s a daunting challenge, but these folks are up to it, so we are done with the discussions. We are moving forward to acting, to getting ready because it’s not when or if but when it happens,” Saenz said.
To see more, view Brownsville Herald photojournalist Denise Cathey’s full photo gallery here:
Photo Gallery: Texas Southmost College holds active attack full scale exercise
