Tag Archives: guns

Uvalde legislator files bill to improve police response to the next Uvalde situations

Posted on March 6, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Of interest. State Rep. Don McLaughlin, who was mayor of Uvalde when a gunman tore through the town’s peace and killed 19 children and two teachers at an elementary school, has filed a bill aimed at addressing some of the … Continue reading →

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Evolv sued over false advertising claims for its AI-aided weapons detection system

Posted on March 2, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Of interest. Mansfield ISD officials are standing by a new artificial intelligence-powered weapon’s detection system despite the technology’s maker facing a pending federal lawsuit for false advertising. A lawsuit from the Federal Trade Commission accuses Evolv of making false claims about the … Continue reading →

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On paying for school security

Posted on February 16, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

The Lege passed a big unfunded mandate in 2023 for schools to hire more security guards. They’re under some pressure to pay up for it this session, though there’s plenty of reason to think they’ll still cheap out. Since Texas … Continue reading →

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HISD’s message about the forthcoming weapons detection systems

Posted on January 10, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

I got this in my inbox on Wednesday. Dear High School Families, The most important thing HISD does each day is keep your student safe while they are at school. At each high school campus, HISD employs a layered approach … Continue reading →

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HISD to add metal detectors at all high schools

Posted on December 23, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Inevitable, I suppose. Ridiculous, but inevitable. Houston ISD will introduce new weapons detection systems to its high school campuses in the spring semester after experiencing an uptick in confiscated weapons in the 2024-25 school year. More than 10 guns have … Continue reading →

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Trying to improve on ShotSpotter

Posted on December 13, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Meet Wytec, a new type of AI-powered gunshot-detection system. Wytec International Inc., a builder of 5G wireless networks, is working on artificial intelligence software to deploy on networks of sensors to pinpoint the location of gunshots or other campus problems … Continue reading →

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“Uber with guns”

Posted on November 24, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Not for me, but maybe for you. A TikTok-famous Black-owned ridesharing service featuring the option of armed drivers with a background in law enforcement or the military will be making its debut in Houston, Dallas, and Austin. BlackWolf, a small … Continue reading →

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Evolv

Posted on November 18, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Very interesting. In the 2022–23 school year news reports nationwide identified more than 1,150 guns brought to K-12 campuses that were seized before anyone fired them. That averages out to more than six guns per day, according to an investigation … Continue reading →

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Paxton takes his fight against the State Fair gun ban back to district court

Posted on November 2, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

As threatened and expected. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton intends to continue challenging the State Fair of Texas’ gun ban, despite the fair ending last week, according to new court filings. Paxton filed a motion Monday to dismiss his appeal … Continue reading →

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SCOTx rejects Paxton’s State Fair appeal

Posted on September 28, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Game over, you lose. The Texas Supreme Court denied a request by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to block a gun ban by the State Fair of Texas, meaning the fair will go forward this weekend with the gun ban … Continue reading →

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Appeals court rejects Paxton in State Fair gun case

Posted on September 25, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Good. A Texas court of appeals has denied the request by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to block a gun ban by the State Fair of Texas. The fair will go forward this weekend with the gun ban in place. … Continue reading →

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Paxton appeals State Fair ruling

Posted on September 24, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

As expected. Days before the State Fair of Texas is set to begin, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is again seeking to block enforcement of the fair’s new policy banning most people from bringing guns to the fair this year. … Continue reading →

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Dallas judge rejects Paxton’s State Fair lawsuit

Posted on September 20, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

The Fair’s ban on guns will stand, at least for now. A Dallas County district judge is leaving the State Fair of Texas gun ban in effect after an injunction hearing Thursday. Attorney General Ken Paxton sued Dallas and the fair last month because … Continue reading →

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More on Paxton versus the State Fair

Posted on September 16, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

This guy, I swear. Attorney General Ken Paxton this week withdrew an eight-year-old legal opinion that gave private nonprofits the green light to ban guns on land they lease from a city — a move that comes as Paxton challenges … Continue reading →

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Paxton versus the State Fair

Posted on September 4, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

First there was this. The state and its third biggest city are set to square off in court over a ban on guns at Texas’ most celebrated tribute to itself — the State Fair. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced … Continue reading →

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Parents of Santa Fe school shooter found not negligent

Posted on August 21, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Of interest. The parents of the accused gunman in the 2018 Santa Fe school shooting were found not liable for negligence by a Galveston County jury Monday. The civil case was filed shortly after the shooting by parents of the … Continue reading →

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Questioning the police response to the Santa Fe school shooting

Posted on August 6, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Interesting. Testimony by a former Galveston County sheriff’s deputy Thursday raised questions about how fast and effectively police responded to the mass shooting inside Santa Fe High School. Sgt. Brent Cooley, retired from the Galveston County Sheriff’s Office, testified that … Continue reading →

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Judge orders some Uvalde records to be released

Posted on July 18, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Really hard to believe that this is still a contested issue, but here we are. The school district and sheriff’s office in Uvalde must release their records and documents related to the Robb Elementary School shooting — including police body … Continue reading →

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Uvalde parents sue FedEx and UPS over gun shipment

Posted on June 9, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Very interesting. The lawsuit alleges that FedEx was used to ship the AR-15 style rifle used in the shooting, and UPS was used for the shipment of a bump stock, which was found at the scene. According to the lawsuit, … Continue reading →

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Uvalde parents sue Daniel Defense again

Posted on May 26, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

I’m rooting for them. Several Uvalde families are suing Daniel Defense, the gun company whose AR-15 style rifle an 18-year-old gunman used to kill 19 children and two teachers and injure several others at Robb Elementary two years ago, lawyers … Continue reading →

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Uvalde parents sue DPS officers

Posted on May 24, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

I hope they can get this to a courtroom. I fear that “qualified immunity” will stop them beforehand. Relatives of 17 children killed and two kids injured in Texas’ deadliest school shooting are suing Texas Department of Public Safety officers … Continue reading →

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City of Uvalde gets its report on police performance at Robb Elementary

Posted on March 9, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

It landed with a thud. A city-commissioned independent review of Uvalde police’s response to the Robb Elementary School shooting cleared local officers of wrongdoing, infuriating parents of the 19 children killed in the massacre and at least two city council … Continue reading →

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Don’t expect much from that Uvalde grand jury

Posted on February 11, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

I mean, I wasn’t, but in case you were, don’t. After more than a year of pressure to file criminal charges against some of the Texas law enforcement officers responsible for the botched response to the Robb Elementary School shooting, … Continue reading →

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DOJ releases its Uvalde report

Posted on January 20, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

It’s brutal. Officers had many opportunities as the 2022 school massacre in Uvalde, Texas, was still unfolding to reassess their flawed response to the shooting that left 19 children and two teachers dead, the US Justice Department concludes in a … Continue reading →

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The problem of inadequate police responses to mass shootings is national

Posted on December 30, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

More great reporting from ProPublica, The Texas Tribune, and FRONTLINE on how police departments across the country have no idea how to react to mass shootings. During an October conference to prepare law enforcement for dealing with an active shooter, … Continue reading →

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A crime threefer

Posted on December 28, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Houston on pace to post 20% decline in homicides in 2023 Houston’s homicide rate is down 20% compared to the year before, outpacing a historic decline in killings nationwide. The city logged 339 homicides thorough Dec. 18, down from 425 … Continue reading →

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School safety funding is still a farce

Posted on December 15, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Blame Greg Abbott and his voucher monomania. Public school administrators were well aware that the Texas House’s vote to block a school voucher program last month would likely mean getting no new money for teacher raises and inflation adjustments this … Continue reading →

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On “active shooter” training and what happened at Uvalde

Posted on December 9, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

You may not want to read this story, which is part of a package that includes a TV documentary. It’s about the Uvalde massacre and how it could be that so many law enforcement officers were just standing around doing … Continue reading →

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Rhonda Hart for CD14

Posted on December 3, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

I wish her very well. Rhonda Hart, who lost her daughter in the 2018 mass shooting at Santa Fe High School, is launching a bid for Congress. Hart, a Democrat, plans to run against incumbent U.S. Rep. Randy Weber, a … Continue reading →

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The Houston-Area Crime Gun Intelligence Center

Posted on November 18, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

This sounds promising. When Houston-area law enforcement officers announced in September that they recovered 79 guns during an investigation into a group of suspected gang members, they had a pretty good idea of how those guns had been used — … Continue reading →

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The school safety funding farce

Posted on November 4, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Typical. State legislators made school safety a top priority this year after 19 students and two teachers died in the 2022 Uvalde school shooting. But even after they passed a sweeping bill on the topic this May, schools have been … Continue reading →

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Houston to fund database to track gun violence

Posted on September 10, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

This is a good thing. A data project to track gun injuries will receive city funding as trauma centers across Houston saw a steady increase in firearm injury victims in recent years, but lacked a systematic way to report the … Continue reading →

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Uvalde DA to present mass shooting case to grand jury

Posted on September 3, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Yeah, I know, what took so long? The Uvalde County prosecutor said she’ll present a case stemming from the Robb Elementary School massacre to a grand jury by the end of this year. The Texas Department of Public Safety has … Continue reading →

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UTMB gets grant for a gun study

Posted on August 26, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

I’ll be very interested to see what they learn. Researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston will be at the forefront of an emerging field of study after receiving a $2 million grant to study ways to … Continue reading →

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