MINOT — Superintendent of Minot Public Schools Mark Vollmer responded to the school shooting that happened in Uvalde, Texas on Tuesday.
“We, like schools across the United States, are deeply saddened to hear what happened in Texas yesterday,” said Vollmer. “While we know that there are a lot of people on both sides of the political aisle that would like to point fingers, the bottom line is that 19 children and 2 staff members lost their lives. We pray for those families, and we pray for some guidance that we can begin to find answers of how we can stop this in every place.”
Vollmer said that MPS has implemented a lot of safety protocols in the past few years to prevent shootings as well as other catastrophes. Those safety protocols include keeping the doors locked, drills on how to handle potential threats, and more.
“We continue to prepare for whatever might come our way, knowing that we’re never totally and completely prepared, of course,” said Vollmer. “We do plan for all types of events. In a community like ours, you think of what we’ve faced. We faced a flood, we faced a pandemic like everyone else, we had a train derailment way back in the day and just a recent one out by Des Lacs.”
Vollmer shared his confidence in North Dakota, saying, “We’re a pretty friendly state. We have not had many of the issues that we’ve seen in other areas of the country. We want to create an environment where everyone treats everyone with respect.”
