The Madison County Sheriff’s Office and school officials have decided to arm all six of the county’s schools when classes resume later this month in response to the tragic school shooting in Uvalde, Texas that killed 19 students and two teachers. Each of the guns would be locked inside a safe, along with extra ammunition and break-in tools, Sheriff Buddy Harwood told the Asheville Citizen-Times. He noted that the delayed response by law enforcement to stop the shooting at Robb Elementary School in May was a rationale for the measure. “These officers were in this building for so long and this suspect was able to infiltrate this building and injure and kill so many children,” Harwood told the newspaper. “I just want to make sure my deputies are prepared in case that happens.” There will be school resources at each of the six schools, including the three elementary schools, according to the Citizen-Times. Officers are trained with instructors from Asheville–Buncombe Technical Community College, he said. The Madison County Sheriff’s Office in North Carolina will place AR-15 rifles in every school building in the county when classes begin later this month.AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File “The reason we put the breaching tools in the safes is so in case we have someone barricaded in a door, we won’t have to wait for the fire department to get there,” Harwood told the store. “We will have these tools to be able to breach this door if necessary. I don’t want to have to run back to the car to get an AR because that’s wasted time. “I hope we never need it, but I want my kids to be as prepared as they can be.” The Madison County school safety decisions are in response to the shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, where 21 people were killed. AP Photo/Eric Gay, FILE Ahead of the start of the school year on Aug. 22, Madison County Superintendent Will Hoffman said school leaders met with local law enforcement to review various security measures. “I hate that we’ve gotten to a place in our country where I have to put a safe in our schools and lock it for my deputies to be able to get an AR-15,” Harwood told the Citizen. -Times. “But, we can shut it down and say it’s not going to happen in Madison County, but we never know. I want the parents of Madison County to know that we will take every measure necessary to ensure that our children are safe in this school system. “If my parents, as a whole, want me standing in that doorway with that AR strapped around the officer’s neck, then I’m going to do whatever my parents as a whole want to do to keep our kids safe.” With Post cables
