Holmdel Shows Solidarity With Texas School Shooting Victims, Town

HOLMDEL, N.J.—The members of the Holmdel Township Committee formally expressed their "shock and grief" about the deadly school shooting in Uvalde, Texas on Tuesday. The committee said in a statement that it also extends its prayers to the families of the victims who died in the tragedy.

“The Township Committee is committed to ensuring that Holmdel’s schools are a safe place for our children to learn and grow,” said Holmdel Mayor Greg Buontempo is a statement posted to the township's media outlets.

“We stand in solidarity with the community in Uvalde and we remain dedicated to working with the Holmdel Township Police, the Holmdel Board of Education, and the state of New Jersey to protect our students.”

After a conference call with the Attorney General, the police department assigned uniformed police officers to provide a presence at Holmdel schools immediately and throughout the next week. Officers and detectives will be conducting walk-throughs of the school buildings this week and an officer will continue to be at the front door of each school.

Holmdel Police Chief Frank Allocco agreed with the mayor’s sentiments, saying, “the incident in Texas is a horrific tragedy.” Allocco outlined the work that the committee and the police department have done to make our schools a safe environment for students:

“For many years we’ve had steps in place to secure or schools to keep our students safe," Allocco said.

He added that the committee and the police department partner with the Board of Education in having retired, armed special officers at each of the schools during hours of operation. Plus, there is a school resource officer assigned to the schools who is constantly working with the school administration to come up with ways to better secure our schools.

While the Township believes it has outstanding security measures already in place, incidents like what occurred in Texas yesterday cause the leadership to "reevaluate its security measures and look for ways to improve," the statement said.