Webb and Zapata students open up about Uvalde tragedy one year later

WEBB COUNTY, Tx. (KGNS) - For the past week, KGNS has spoken to four school districts on the security measures in place and published an investigation on the number of threats posed at one school district.

As students and teachers close the chapter on the 2022-2023 school year, many students in the Webb and Zapata County area are speaking out about the impact the Uvalde tragedy still has on them to this day.

Since the murder of 19 kids and 2 teachers, May 24, 2022 is a date that changed the lives of many, not only in Texas but across the country.

KGNS News spoke to multiple school districts including Laredo, United, Zapata and Webb Consolidated ISD on their safety plans but despite the security measures, some students say they still feel uneasy.

Webb Consolidated ISD and Zapata ISD are two smaller districts in south Texas.

Students say they are still heartbroken over the tragedy, especially because it was so close to home.

Students believe it’s important that school safety should be a top priority at every school campus across the country and that they should continue to practice shooting drills.

“We are still practicing those more often in the past, the sheriff department have been showing up to the school and they became a common practice, it was reassuring to see them around,” said Webb Consolidated ISD Student Walker Whitworth.

“Definitely many kind of safety things were implemented in the following year, there had been so many before but it was kind of heightened after the event. The changes were easy, but administrators explained them to us and of course we explained what happened,” said Zapata ISD High School Student Isabelle Martinez.

Even if these two students are from different school districts, they share the same thought.

They hope a tragedy like Uvalde never knocks on their front doors.

In response to the Uvalde shooting, lawmakers recently have backed school safety bills that gives the state additional power in making school districts to create more trainings and provide more equipment in classrooms.

Coming up in our later newscasts, we hear more from teachers and students about their thoughts on the tragedy.

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