Texas Republican: Ensuring doors work properly will stop school shootings

31 May 2022, 19:06 | Updated: 31 May 2022, 19:08

Texas State Rep. says ensuring doors close properly will fix gun violence

By Seán Hickey

A member of the Texas House of Representatives tells LBC that a key way to prevent more mass shootings in the US isn't to put restrictions on guns, but make sure doors work properly.

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James Earl White is a Republican representative in the Texas House of Representatives and joined Eddie Mair to reflect on the Uvalde massacre, where 21 people were killed by an 18-year-old who legally bought two assault rifles.

Eddie asked the Representative how America can ensure such an event doesn't happen again.

Rep White told LBC listeners that authorities must "make sure every entrance on every public school campus is working operably."

"The door that the murderer went through did not close tightly and that allowed that individual to breach and mass murder those students and teachers."

The 18-year-old shooter Salvador Ramos was inside the classroom at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas for 40 minutes to an hour before he was shot dead, officials said.

'Everyone here knows how to shoot, you learn how to do it at school.'

Rep Earl White didn't stop there, adding that another preventative measure could be to only have two unlocked doors on a school property at any given time.

"We should generally have one way in the main building of a school, and one way out", he said, adding "if they're not manned by a faculty member or law enforcement, they need to remain closed and locked."

"Guns are now the biggest injury based killer in the US" Eddie put to the politician, wondering what his view of the statistic was.

Rep White argued that the US has a "fentanyl epidemic" which is "impacting many young Americans throughout the country" and that may well be pipping school shootings to the top spot.

He concluded the interview by quashing the argument to tighten regulations on 18-20 year olds looking to buy firearms, telling Eddie that "18 to 20 is not the group bringing firearms onto school campuses", despite Salvador Ramos being in fact, 18-years-old.