By Sarah Calams
DALLAS — Following the Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde, Texas earlier this week, the Dallas Police Department wants the public to be aware of how they’re monitoring and taking shooting threats seriously. Their answer? The department’s Fusion Center.
The Fusion Center, according to WFAA.com, allows the department’s detectives to monitor threats and gather intelligence on possible shooters. Their software, the department told WFAA, also allows detectives greater access to social and blog posts.
“It allows us to filter and monitor in live time and we see alerts and make real-time decisions,” Major Williams told WFAA. “If this is a credible threat and we vet it and look deeper into it and decide where we need to go with that threat.”
However, Williams says they still rely on citizens’ information, which came into play Wednesday after a woman called with information about a man with a weapon walking toward Berkner High School in Richardson, Texas. The hashtag #SeeSomethingSaySomething is now trending on Twitter.
“When you are seeing something, you are just as important of a role as we are,” Williams said. “You are the eyes of the police department.”
Richardson police found a loaded AK-47 style pistol and replica AR-15 style Orbeez rifle inside the student’s car that was parked across an intersection from the high school campus, FOX4News.com reported. The school was placed on lockdown for an hour. Police took the student into custody, who they say did not have a weapon with him in the school.
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