May 18 marks one year since a 17-year-old student walked into Santa Fe High School and shot 10 dead and injured 13 others.
Th high school in Texas has spent the past year addressing security improvements, according to a report published Saturday by ABC13. The district claims it has spent around $3 million in new security measures.
The upped security includes facial recognition, panic alarms, 20 new full-time and part-time campus officers, 256 new cameras, social media monitoring and security assistants.
Santa Fe ISD Police Chief Walter Braun has made it his mission to make sure something as tragic as the May 18 shooting never happens again.
“Pretty much haven’t stopped,” Braun told ABC13. (RELATED: 10 Dead, 10 Wounded In Shooting At Texas High School, Sheriff Confirms)
The school district plans to add even more security measures moving forward including an employee to monitor cameras and an app for teachers and staff to be able to signal trouble.
“There’s always more that we would like to see and do, but we also have to consider the reasonableness of how much it costs,” Santa Fe ISD Superintendent Dr. Leigh Wall said.
The idea of increasing security measures in response to tragic incidents like the Santa Fe shooting isn’t new. Andrew Pollack, whose daughter was killed in the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, has also called for the hardening of schools.
Pollack’s eight point plan includes creating single point entries with metal detectors, a volunteer security program, increasing mental health resources and placing armed guards in every school.
Regardless of the amount of security added, Braun pointed out that there might not ever be enough preparation to fully prevent another shooting from happening.
“Nothing can prepare you for the devastation in a school,” Braun said.
“If evil wants to do evil, it’s going to happen,” Braun said. “You can take measures to mitigate it, and to prepare for it, but I don’t know anybody who can truthfully tell you, you could totally prevent it.”