Fremont Police Increase Patrols In Aftermath Of Texas School Shooting

FREMONT, CA — The Fremont Police Department announced Wednesday that it is increasing patrols in the wake of Tuesday's shooting at a Texas elementary school.

"We send our condolences to the families impacted by gun violence and stand ready to guard against these horrific incidents," the department said in a message to the community.

"We are not aware of any threats in Fremont, however, we will conduct extra patrols at schools and other gathering locations out of an abundance of caution."

The department also released a letter to the community from Police Chief Sean Washington —

Dear Fremont Community,

On behalf of our Police Department, we offer condolences, prayers, and support for families impacted by the recent senseless loss of life throughout our nation. We are sickened by the gun violence perpetrated by persons motivated by hate and/or are simply represent evil.

Our Department will continue to do all we can, with the resources we have available to protect our community from these horrible acts of violence. In addition to first on scene patrol officers, we will continue to utilize the expertise of the department’s Gun Violence Reduction Team (GVRT) to proactively follow up and locate individuals who pose a risk to our community. In response to our community’s public safety priorities (violent crime), we recently initiated a plan to move resources from other specialized units into our investigative units and apprehension teams.

Our School Resource Officers (SRO) continue to work in partnership with the Fremont Unified School District (FUSD) to develop practical safety plans and response options for our schools to support a safe educational environment. We also have worked with our business community on safety planning and preparation.

I am confident in the ability of our police officers to effectively respond to these situations. Fremont police officers are highly skilled and have an unwavering commitment to public safety despite unprecedented challenges within the law enforcement profession. Our staff is prepared and have trained for these types of violent incidents. We will respond with specialized equipment which enables us to enhance our ability to achieve public safety objectives. Our Department will also continue to responsibly utilize technology to supplement our staffing resources.

Although these extreme acts of violence are becoming more frequent in our nation, we have not identified any known threats to our community. We will maintain a sense of readiness and do all we can to protect our community if this unlikely event occurs in our city. Our community is special because our police department and community are united in our belief that together, we work toward maintaining a safe community.

We stand with those suffering from the impact of these horrendous acts of violence.

Respectfully,
Sean Washington,
Fremont Police Chief

Resources for Parents

An East Bay educator also offered resources for parents to talk to their children about the school shooting:

• American Psychological Association (APA): Helping your Child Manage Distress In The Aftermath Of A School Shooting
• National Association of School Psychologists: Talking to Your Children About Violence
• Commonsense Media: Explaining The News To Our Kids
• Commonsense Media: How To Talk To Kids About School Shootings
• Childmind.org Anxiety Over School Shootings

Related:

• Vigil Planned In Bay Area For Victims Of Texas School Shooting
• 'Enough!' Warriors Coach Steve Kerr Gives Impassioned Plea On Shooting
• Texas Shooting Prompts CA Senate To Pass Bill Targeting Assault Guns
• Texas School Shooting: Gunman Killed 19 Kids, 2 Teachers In Same Class