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HOUSTON (FOX 26) - The flags outside HISD schools are at half staff because of what happened in Santa Fe. If you think the possibility of a mass shooting isn't on the minds of many parents, think again.
"It hasn't happened at HISD yet, but the thing is, it's always in the back of your mind that it's a possibility," said Chyna Harris.
If you think that possibility hasn't been on the mind of the HISD police chief, too, think again. He has spent a lot of time over the last week down at Santa Fe High School offering support and learning what he can to prevent as mass shooting. He's come up with a plan. It's a new unit of HISD police officers, a standing emergency response team.
"Basically it needs to be a fluid, dynamic team that's district wide and ready at a moment's notice to go to a location. We don't want them centralized like a fire house stuck in one location," says Chief Paul Cordova.
He says the unit will get additional equipment and training, but he says it's not a SWAT team and they won't be hiring any additional officers. Cordova says HISD covers a large area and that will be a challenge.
It's a work in progress, but parents like Harris are happy to hear the district is taking steps now before something happens. She wants more information by next school year.
"It gives them time to tweak it, maybe present it to the parents and we can say, 'oh, that's great but can you think about doing this and this?' You know there always that," Harris says.
The unit will be ready by August said Cordova.