US allocates over $70m to counter school shootings

IANS  |  Washington 

The US has approved the allocation of more than $70 million in grant funding to bolster security in schools to counter mass shootings, the said in a statement.

The funds aim to "bolster school security, educate and train students and faculty as well as support and first responders who arrive on the scene of a school incident", according to the statement.

"and his administration will ensure the safety of every American school," Jeff Sessions said on Tuesday.

On February 14, a shootout at a school in Parkland, Florida, left 17 dead, while another on May 18 claimed 10 lives in a school.

The statement also said that the department was investing over $1 million to "examine factors that contribute to mass violence, identify any patterns in mass shootings, analyze psychological and social life histories of mass shooters and community-level predictors of mass and will examine firearm purchasing patterns of known mass shooters in order to create a risk prediction tool".

The had earlier proposed to counter mass shootings in schools by arming school teachers, against the backdrop of spiralling demand for reforming gun laws in the country.

--IANS

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First Published: Wed, October 03 2018. 14:10 IST