Bloglander

State and local politicians reacted Friday morning and afternoon to the shooting of over two dozen students and teachers in a Newtown, Conn., grade school:

Gov. Jay Inslee: “This is an incredibly dark day for our nation. Words can’t convey the sense of sorrow this tragedy has brought. My heart — and the hearts of all Washingtonians — go out to the people of Newton today, especially to the families of the victims and the parents of the children.

“Today is a day for mourning, but in the days to come I will be listening to all in our community with ideas for how we can prevent such violence.”

Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers: “We need to find out what happened and what drove this individual to this place,” McMorris Rodgers told the Washington Post. “I think we have to be careful about new, suggesting new gun laws. We need to look at what drives a crazy person to do these kind of actions and make sure that we’re enforcing the laws that are currently on the books. And yes, definitely, we need to do everything possible to make sure that something like this never happens again.”

Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich: "In these types of situations you basically have three options; run, hide, or fight," Knezovich told KHQ.

Spokane City Councilwoman Amber Waldref: "I'm praying for the families of CT shooting victims. I just want to hug my kids and never let them go."

Spokane Mayor David Condon: “I know I speak for our entire community when I say that we are heartbroken over the tragic events that occurred in Connecticut this morning,” Condon says in a press statement that included remarks (below) with Spokane's police chief and schools superintendent. “The City of Spokane and Spokane Public Schools work closely together in many ways to help ensure that our kids are safe at school and within our community. And, we will continue to seek ways to improve their safety.”

Spokane Police Chief Frank Straub: “The Spokane Police Department works very closely with Spokane Public Schools to be able to respond to emergencies,” Straub says in a statement. “Every SPD officer is trained to respond to active shooter situations. We have trained in our local schools, developed joint plans, and have detailed layouts of every school within in the City to speed our response. Protecting our students and our schools is very important to us, and we have increased our police coverage at our schools today in light of the day’s events.”

Spokane Public Schools Superintendent Shelley Redinger: “Our relationship with the police department is invaluable,” says Redinger. “We rely on them for training, for consultation and for response to emergencies. It is notable that the first people I heard from today were the chief's office and the mayor's office. With their support we will continue to look at ways we can improve the safety and security of our students and staff.”

Also, KREM apologizes for sharing wrong info on suspected shooter. 

More City Hall Eyeball here.