New Active Shooter Alert System Goes Live One Day After Mass Shooting Anniversary

It's been two years in the making, but the Texas Department of Public Safety now has an active shooter alert system that is now live the day after the anniversary of the mass mobile shooting in Odessa/Midland.

According to NewsWest 9, Texas House of Representatives congressman Brook Landgraf authored the legislation to create an Active Shooter Alert System that went live today.

It was created to prevent mass violence by getting an alert system to focus on the area that the active shooter is located to warn citizens to take shelter or avoid the area.

"We wanted to do two things," said Rep. Landgraf. "We wanted to be able to help push back against the scourge of mass shootings while also protecting the constitutional rights of law abiding Texans, and I think that this measure does exactly that, and we had a lot of support from our communities in West Texas."

The alerts will be similar to the Amber alerts or weather alerts that the DPS sends out and will be issued when an agency sends out a request that meets the requirements.

The requirements are as follows:

• An active shooter is in the requesting agency’s jurisdiction.
• Determination that an Active Shooter Alert would assist individuals near the active shooter’s location.
• Verification exists of the active shooter situation through a preliminary investigation by the requesting agency.
• The active shooter’s last known location is identifiable.

Landgraf says he did this to honor those who lost their lives on August 31, 2019.

"We did this in memory of all of those victims, and this is a way for their memories to live on in a positive way and in a way that’s going to be able to save lives," said Landgraf.

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