MANSFIELD, Texas — Mansfield, Texas is just the latest community in America searching for answers after living through a traumatic school shooting.
And after four people were injured during the shooting at Timberview High School in Mansfield ISD, the city’s mayor says there now may be a need for a combination of security enhancements at secondary campuses. But metal detectors, he says, should not be considered a fail-safe.
“In schools around the country, and in particular Texas, you’ve got hundreds of doors, exits in and out, and that’s for our kids’ safety as well. So, you’re talking about a whole lot of money,” Mayor Michael Evans said on Inside Texas Politics. “And right now, schools are already dealing with budget woes because of the pandemic.”
Evans himself is very familiar with security inside Mansfield ISD schools. He sat on the school board for nearly 10 years, including two years as board president.
He says they discussed metal detectors a few years ago. But even then, he says parents expressed reluctance about installing detectors, preferring instead to have police officers on campus, which he says has worked for the district.
The mayor also says practice and preparation is why there was a sense of order throughout the ordeal.
And Evans, who is also the pastor at Bethlehem Baptist Church, says the community is already starting to heal due in large part to the fact that there were no fatalities.
“We were shaken by the very fact that we, like so many communities around the country, recognize that we are not untouchable when it comes to gun violence and this kind of traumatic experience,” he said.
Mayor Michael Evans: Michael Evans | Mansfield, TX (mansfieldtexas.gov)
