Texas lt gov suggests having ‘too many entrances’ to schools makes shootings worse

Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R) suggested on Friday that having “too many entrances and too many exits” at schools may have worsened the effects of Friday’s deadly mass shooting at a Santa Fe, Texas, high school.

“We may have to look at the design of our schools moving forward and retrofitting schools that are already built,” Patrick, a staunch opponent of new gun control measures, said at a news conference.

“There are too many entrances and too many exits to our over 8,000 campuses in Texas,” he continued. “There aren’t enough people to put a guard at every entrance and exit. You would be talking 25, 30, 40,000 people.”

{mosads}

TX Lt Gov Dan Patrick, a fierce opponent of gun control, says today’s shooting may have been caused by Texas schools having “too many entrances and too many exits.” pic.twitter.com/tLByRqL6oX

— David Mack (@davidmackau) May 18, 2018

Patrick’s comments came hours after a gunman opened fire at Santa Fe High School, 30 miles outside of Houston, killing 10 people and leaving another 10 injured. 

Law enforcement identified the suspected shooter as 17-year-old Dimitrios Pagourtzis, a student at the school. He has been taken into custody. Police have also detained a person of interest in connection with the attack.

The Santa Fe Independent School District said in a tweet that authorities had also located explosive devices in the high school, as well as off campus, though no explosions have been reported.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) said at a news conference on Friday that the weapons allegedly used by Pagourtzis — a .38 revolver and a shotgun — belonged to his father, who purchased them legally. 

The Feb. 14 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., reignited a national debate over gun laws, with anti-gun violence activists pushing lawmakers to implement new firearms restrictions.

Opponents of new gun control measures have argued that such restrictions would not reduce gun violence effectively, but would instead prevent people from defending themselves from attacks.