BEAUMONT, Texas — A mass shooting at a Nashville school that killed six people is shedding light on present safety measures implemented at Southeast Texas school districts.
The massacre at The Covenant School in Nashville was the latest in a series of mass shootings in the US.
The victims were identified as Hallie Scruggs, Evelyn Dieckhaus and William Kinney, all 8 or 9 years old, and adults Cynthia Peak, 61; Katherine Koonce, 60; and Mike Hill, 61.
The suspected shooter was identified as Audrey Hale, 28, who police say elaborately planned the massacre by drawing out a detailed map and conducting surveillance of the building.
Beaumont Independent School District officials want to reassure the public that they have weekly trainings and have implemented many safety measures to continue to make safety a top priority
The recent shooting in Nashville has reminded school officials that events like these have become a tragic reality in the country.
"Definitely want to extend our condolences to the families and the community of Nashville ,Tennessee. It's a horrific incident," said Beaumont ISD Police Chief Joseph Malbrough.
Malbrough is responsible for making sure 17,000 Beaumont ISD students make it home safely every night.
He says, it's a responsibility he doesn't take lightly.
"We're having to do extra training and as it relates to ensuring students as well as our staff are trained in active shooter type events," Malbrough said.
Principal of Pietzsch MacArthur Elementary School Audrey Collins says campus safety is a hot topic of all Beaumont ISD schools.
"A place that should be sacred as a school is losing it's safe halo so it's heartbreaking every time you hear about a school shooting because it's innocent lives being taken," Collins said.
Beaumont ISD Police are running additional drills to make sure they are always ready to respond.
"That training of course often entails us having a representative as an intruder as well as a individual that has a simulation of a weapon," Malbrough said.
And the campuses themselves are locked down tight. School officials conduct multiple door sweeps and have front entry security cameras.
All visitors are screened using a security system.
"Yes, you get in through the first doors you have to leave that unlocked, but you can't get in through that second layer, so we use our camera system," Collins said.
The police force in Nashville being credited for their swift response time, which is a big takeaway for Malbrough and his team.
"And now we're in cooperating some things that we can use so we can better serve our communities," he said.
Chief Malbrough and his team will be hosting a Civilian Response to Active Shooter Events (CRASE) training at one of the district's campuses as part of an ongoing effort to keep campuses safe.