Westport officials stress school safety after Texas shooting

WESTPORT — The superintendent and police chief are reassuring residents about school safety in Westport as more details emerge about the Texas school shooting.

“I would like to take this opportunity to reassure the Westport community that safety and security in our schools has been and continues to be a top priority,” Police Chief Foti Koskinas said in a message to families and educators.

The message comes about a week after an 18-year-old gunman walked into Robb Elementary

School in Uvalde, Texas, and killed 19 students and two teachers — the worst school shooting in American history behind Sandy Hook.

Westport officials responded locally by adding more police officers at the schools the next day even though officials stressed there was no direct threat in town.

This week, Koskinas shared information about the police’s preparations for these types of incidents.

“I assure the families of Westport that our officers and the officers assigned to our schools receive and maintain the best training, equipment and preparation available to law enforcement personnel today,” Koskinas said.

He said, while the message comes in the aftermath of the tragedy in Uvalde, the department has “repetitively trained and meticulously examined the best practice responses” for shootings for nearly 30 years.

“Our police department strives to be on the cutting edge of all training and education regarding school shootings and active shooter incidents,” he said. “We are extremely fortunate to live in a community where our town leadership affords the police department with the resources, equipment and training to be superior in our response to such a catastrophic event.”

Koskinas and Superintendent Thomas Scarice both stressed the partnership the police and schools have and how closely they work together on school safety and security.

Scarice said the district has continued to work collaboratively with law enforcement and first responders since the Texas shooting “to maintain the highest standards with regards to safety and security.”

That partnership recently played out twice within the district, first when two schools sheltered in place for a suspicious person who turned out to be a late student and then when a small electrical fire in the Long Lots auditorium prompted the school to be evacuated.

“In both instances our collective response within our schools, and in coordination with local law enforcement and first responders, was very successful,” Scarice said.

“That said, we will continue to work closely with our local law enforcement and security experts to continue to maintain the highest standards of safety for our students, faculty and support staff.”