Editor’s Note: This video is taken from previous coverage of the shoot.
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin ISD police have made policy changes since the Sept. 10 shooting that ended with police arresting a gunman one block away from Barton Hills Elementary School around drop-off time.
Police said the shooting began when Brandon Thompson shot a woman in the head and then shot a police officer near Zilker Park when riot police approached them about a stolen car found in a parking lot off Azzie Morton Road. Thompson then fled, reportedly breaking into a home near Barton Hills Elementary School, and the homeowner shot and wounded him.
The school has entered “safe” mode, which means business as usual, but no one is leaving campus. The district also said staff and AISD police helped escort students inside.
Community members criticized the district’s plan to stay open and not implement any delays, and the City of Austin Law Department sent an email to district officials saying it was the city and police department’s official recommendation to delay or cancel classes. The district said it made the decision not to cancel when APD sent out a “crystal clear” alert prematurely.
“I think we can all agree that a two-hour delay would have given us a much greater ability to assess the situation,” AISD Police Chief Wayne Snead said Tuesday.
Sneed addressed the communications shortcomings at a news conference the week of the shooting, promising that the department would work with school and law enforcement partners to put in place a better system.
What’s new?
Chief Snead said multi-organizational safety meetings have already been scheduled to comply with Uvalde’s robust law aimed at improving communication during school-related emergencies.
He said they also used that time to specifically address the Zilker shooting, and are making the following changes:
- Create unified language between APD and AISD because terms like “shelter in place” currently mean different things to each department
- Allow only AISD police employees with significant patrol experience to serve as supervisors during emergencies
- Communication between heads/leaders from relevant departments via group chat during emergency situations
- Implement more in-person training that includes all first responder agencies
“As a parent, I don’t think we will ever forget how vulnerable our children were that day, but I think we have gone from fear to action,” said Becky Gaines, head of Barton Hills Elementary School. “I try to respect the space and time that this has to happen, but also give the right amount of pressure so that there is accountability and reasonable change.”