In the wake of a Minneapolis Catholic school shooting that killed two children and injured 17 others on Aug. 27, police on Long Island said they are stepping up security at schools and religious institutions.
Authorities said the shooter, identified as 23-year-old Robin Westman, opened fire through the windows of the church at Annunciation Catholic School. Two children, ages 8 and 10, were killed as they sat in pews. A total of 14 other children and three adults were wounded before Westman, armed with a rifle, shotgun and pistol, died by suicide, police said.
Just moments after the shooting, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman and Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder announced that they are deploying a new “strategic response team” to strengthen security across public and private schools in the county.
The 40-officer unit will cover all 450 public schools in Nassau County as well as private academies, charters, religious education buildings and colleges.
“With the start of the school year, we are devoting more assets to the safety of our communities, especially our schools,” Blakeman said during the press conference.
As part of the plan, officers will visit each school daily, patrol grounds, meet with principals and familiarize themselves with the layout of each building. Patrol cars will carry ballistic vests, helmets, breaching tools and medical kits, enabling officers to confront threats immediately.
“In Nassau County, the first cop there goes in. We don’t wait,” Ryder said, citing mass shootings where delayed police responses cost lives. “We neutralize the threat and then we go back for those who need aid.”
Catholic communities nationwide have been shaken by the Minneapolis shooting.
Cardinal Timothy Dolan of the Archdiocese of New York called it “senseless” and “all the more disturbing because it happened at a Catholic church and school, which should always be sanctuaries of peace.”
“We mourn the two innocent children whose lives were cut short by this dreadful tragedy and hold in our intentions the 17 wounded,” Dolan said in a statement. “We pray for an end to all violence in our hearts, in our communities and in our world.”
Bishop John O. Barres of the Diocese of Rockville Centre, which oversees Catholic schools on Long Island, said safety remains the diocese’s top priority.
“The wellbeing and safety of every student, teacher, and staff member in our Catholic schools here on Long Island remains our priority,” Barres said. “We are committed to ensuring that our schools are safe places of faith, hope and charity.”
Nassau officials said the patrols are intended not only to deter violence but also to build familiarity between officers and educators before an emergency ever happens.
