Texas school shooting ramps up security measures in local school districts, Illinois residents stand in solidarity
HUNTLEY—Parents and guardians of students attending Huntley High School and other local schools may have taken notice of a heavier presence of police and an increase in security measures, which is a change that was sparked in the wake of the latest school shooting in Uvalde, Texas.
“You may have noticed we have increased our presence at the schools this week. In addition to the full-time School Resource Officer who is assigned to the Harmony Road Campus, additional officers will be at Huntley High School and Leggee Elementary for the remainder of the week out of an abundance of caution,” stated the Huntley Police Department on May 26.
However, it is not just local school districts that are responding in the aftermath of the mass shooting.
In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, spoke about the tragic incident that claimed the lives of 19 students and two teachers at Robb Elementary School.
“I cannot imagine what it was like…in Texas in the homes of the 19 children who lost their lives in that Robb School gun massacre. Those are the longest, loneliest nights of your life as a parent when you’ve lost a child,” said Durbin. “The freedom and joy of youth was ripped from every single one of those 19 children and two of the heroic teachers who sought to protect them when they were murdered in cold blood by this gunman.”
Durbin also called on his Senate colleagues to support common-sense gun safety legislation to prevent such “appalling acts of mass murder in the future.”
“The members of the Senate have to make a choice—will we listen to the American people in their overwhelming numbers calling on us to set policies aside and stop the killing of children and other innocent Americans, or will we cower in front of the gun industry? The lives of countless children, and I might add grandchildren, depend on our answer to that question,” added Durbin.
Individuals across Illinois have taken to offering their support to the victims, especially in nearby Kane County, where one resident shared that a family who lost one of their children in the Texas mass shooting, once lived in Elgin.
Vinnie Salazar, the father of one of the Robb Elementary School student victims, set up a GoFundMe account to help him and his family, raise money to pay for funeral expenses. Their $15,000 goal has been surpassed.
“A tragedy has taken the life of our precious little angel Layla. Our family is devastated. This heart-wrenching time has changed us forever,” wrote Salazar on the GoFundMe page. “If people knew how much we truly miss our daughter, they would wonder how we’re still breathing…she will live within the beat of my heart forever.”
The Huntley Police Department urges community members that have any concerns about school safety or threats to report them to Huntley Community School District 158 officials at 847-659-4636.
Anonymous tips can also be provided to the Huntley Police Department by calling 847-515-5333 or by texting 888777 with TIP HUNTLEY followed by the tip.
“Today instead of thinking about vacation and summer, the parents are sadly making funeral arrangements for their babies. Others are sitting down with their children and trying to explain why their playmates are not at school,” stated Durbin. “Now families across America are stepping forward to offer their condolences, donate to the families who lost precious children, and to demand that this Senate act to prevent…the appalling acts of mass murder that we see way too often.”
