Marin Sheriff Pledges 'Increased Presence' At All Schools

SAN RAFAEL, CA — The Marin County Sheriff's Office pledged an 'increased presence' at all schools in the county this week, following elementary school shootings in Uvalde, Texas that killed 18 children and two teachers.

"Our Deputies and [School Resource Officer] are visiting all the schools in our jurisdiction today. We will have increased presence at all our schools this week," MCSO spokesperson Sgt. Brenton Schneider told Patch.

Every district has school-specific emergency plans that are approved annually by the school board and are updated on an ongoing basis, with input from local law enforcement, Marin County Office of Education Deputy Superintendent Ken Lippi told Patch.

MCOE consulted with the Marin County Sheriff’s Office on Tuesday and Wednesday, according to Lippi. Individual police departments and private security firms are also consulting with schools, various districts have confirmed to Patch.

The Marin County Office of Education also emailed resources about how to process and respond to school shootings to family and staff at all county public and private schools, Deputy Superintendent Ken Lippi told Patch.

“Within a couple hours yesterday, we were able to help provide resources to all of our schools in Marin with information for parents, for teachers, for school staff, for schools to use in speaking about the shootings in Uvalde, Texas,” he said. “Unfortunately, there’s been practice in getting these things out…we do it in a quick way so by the end of the school day, parents can have some of this information in their hands.”

The district shared the following mental health resources with families:

• Talking to Children About Violence: Tips for Parents and Teachers - National Association of School Psychologists
• How to Talk To Kids About School Shootings – Common Sense Media
• Responding to School Violence - Tips for Administrators - National Association of School Psychologists
• Anxiety Over School Shootings - Child Mind Institute Spanish Link
• Helping Students Cope With A Violent World – Edutopia

On Tuesday, 19 children and two teachers were shot to death at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas. At least 13 more were injured. The shooter has been identified as 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, who was shot dead by law enforcement officers.

At 11:32 a.m. Tuesday, Ramos shot up a classroom at Robb Elementary School with an AR-15 rifle, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said at a Tuesday news conference. Prior to entering the school, he shot and killed his grandmother in the face. Tuesday’s shooting is the second deadliest school shooting on record after the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre, which took the lives of 20 children and six adults.

The school is closed for the remainder of the school year.

• Texas School Shooting: What We Know About Uvalde Victims
• Texas School Shooting: Live Updates In Photos
• Texas Shooting Prompts CA Senate To Pass Bill Targeting Assault Guns
• Federal Judge Overturns CA's Ban On Assault Weapons
• 'Enough!' Warriors Coach Steve Kerr Gives Impassioned Plea On Shooting

President Biden will travel to Texas to visit the grieving community. He has also ordered all flags on government and military properties to be flown at half-staff until Sunday. At a news conference Tuesday, Biden called for more gun control measures following the second mass shooting in less than a week.

“When in God’s name are we going to stand up to the gun lobby?” Biden said Tuesday at the White House. “I am sick and tired. We have to act.”

The California Senate on Wednesday passed a bill to allow private citizens to file suit for at least $10,000 against manufacturers of illegal assault weapons or untraceable ghost guns.

SB-1327 borrows tactics from a controversial approach to outlawing most abortions in Texas, in which residents are allowed to sue abortion clinics to stop procedures.

The California bill, co-authored by Sen. Robert Hertzberg (D-Van Nuys) and Sen. Anthony Portantino (D-La Cañada), was first introduced by Gov. Gavin Newsom in December.

The Senate set the bill to the Assembly after a 24-10 vote.

California began restricting assault weapons in 1989 and has updated the law several times since. To date, there are an estimated 185,569 assault weapons registered within California. State law defines assault weapons as semiautomatic rifles or pistols that have a variety of functions.

Patch has reached out to the individual school districts for further information and comment.