Oakland Officials Respond to Connecticut Elementary School Shooting

Bay City News Service—Bay Area schools and local elected officials are responding to this morning's elementary school mass shooting in Newtown, Conn.

A lone gunman shot and killed more than two dozen people at the K-4 Sandy Hook Elementary School, including 20 children and six adults, according to Connecticut State Police officials. The gunman was pronounced dead at the school and at least one other person was found dead at a secondary crime scene in Newtown, police said.

Oakland Unified School District officials said their school system is secure.

"Our level of readiness greatly exceeds that of the typical school district," district spokesman Troy Flint said in a statement this afternoon.

Each campus has a safety plan and is on heightened alert, Flint said. Counseling and other support is also available through the school district.

Oakland police officials said officers are available to speak with students, teachers, staff and parents at any school who have concerns after today's incident. 

Oakland Mayor Jean Quan said in a statement, "Today we are attempting to reach out to officials in Newton, Connecticut to offer our support and prayers in this tragedy.

"Our city understands the heartbreak of young people lost to senseless violence. In the eight months since the loss of seven lives at Oikos University, we have seen the repeated mass violence at shopping malls in Portland and Wisconsin, at a high school in Aurora, Colorado and now again in an elementary school.

"We agree with President Obama that 'we are going to have to come together and take meaningful action.' Senator Feinstein's legislation on assault weapons expired long ago, and any discussion of renewal or other legislation has been blocked."

Tom Torlakson, the state superintendent of public instruction, said in a statement that the incident is terrible, especially since it took place at a school. "Our grief is made all the deeper when we think of the innocence of the lives lost and valiant efforts of teachers and school leaders to protect them," Torlakson said.

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Dixie Jordan contributed to this article.

Do you think school campuses in Oakland are sufficiently secure? Do you think school safety comes at the expense of an open and welcoming atmosphere? 

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