Rilling Announces Plans For Enhanced School Safety In Norwalk

NORWALK, CT — Mayor Harry Rilling said he has asked Police Chief Thomas Kulhawik to develop a plan to have an officer at each school in the city for the remainder of the school year following the shooting in Uvalde, Texas that left at least 19 students and two adults dead at an elementary school.

In a statement Wednesday, Rilling said the city has heard increased concerns from parents in the community about school safety following the shooting and wanted to share how Norwalk is addressing these concerns.

"[Wednesday] morning, I instructed [Kulhawik] to develop a plan to have an officer at each school in the city for the remainder of the school year," Rilling said in a statement. "While there has been a recruitment challenge in the police department, we are going to do the best we can to offer greater levels of security at every school to meet our priority: the safety and well-being of our students."

Rilling also noted he was thankful the city allotted $600,000 for school safety through this year's capital budget.

"This funding represents the full funding amount requested by the study from the Safety and Security Task Force created in December," Rilling said. "We thank everyone in the community, especially our schools and parents for being there for one another during these uncertain times and for continuing to put our student’s safety first."

Norwalk Public Schools addressed the shooting at Robb Elementary School in a post on the district's Facebook page Tuesday night.

"News like this deeply impacts us all, no matter what the location. Our hearts and prayers are with the entire Uvalde County community tonight," the post reads. "Please know that there is nothing more important than the safety of our schools. To make sure our students and staff feel safe, all Norwalk schools will reinforce our existing safety protocols, and will be extra vigilant [Wednesday] and over the next several days. Our partners at the Norwalk Police Department will also have a more visible presence at our schools as well."

See also: Increased Police Presence Expected At Norwalk Schools Wednesday

Police also indicated on Facebook the department would remain vigilant this week and said there would be an increased police presence at schools in Norwalk this week.