More Police To Patrol NJ Schools After Texas Shooting, AG Says

NEW JERSEY - New Jersey police will increase their presence at schools across the state, the state’s top law enforcement official announced, after a gunman killed at least 19 students and 2 adults at a Texas elementary school on Tuesday.

The measure is effective immediately, according to Acting Attorney General Matthew Platkin, who says that New Jersey State Police will ramp up their presence at the Garden State schools where troopers are the primary law enforcement.

RELATED: What We Know About The Texas School Shooting Victims

All 21 New Jersey county prosecutors have also been instructed to increase local police presence at schools in their jurisdictions.

“Our students, their families and caregivers, teachers, and school administrators should feel safe in school, and be assured that New Jersey’s law enforcement agencies will do everything in their power to protect them,” Platkin said in a statement.

Gov. Phil Murphy tweeted Tuesday night that the measure comes despite “no credible threats” in New Jersey.

“We will do everything in our power to ensure students, parents, and educators feel safe at school,” Murphy said.

The shooting is the deadliest at a U.S. elementary school since the Sandy Hook massacre in 2012. It also comes four years after a gunman killed 10 people in a shooting at Santa Fe High School in the Houston area.

“Nothing about this is normal,” Platkin said. “We do not have to accept that we live in a country where children are shot just for going to school. My heart goes out to the families of the victims, and we must all do everything we can to end the epidemic of gun violence.”

“No child or educator should ever fear going to school, and no parent should ever fear sending their child to school. We must end our nation's gun violence epidemic," Murphy added.

In a series of tweets, Murphy urged stricter gun control nationwide, noting that “there is no greater responsibility than protecting our children – and our nation is failing this most basic test.”

“The American people are waiting in exasperation and terror as members of Congress sit on their hands rather than pass nationwide gun safety legislation,” Murphy said.

“I introduced a comprehensive gun safety 3.0 package over a year ago and this moment demands that our Legislature finally take action. This legislation will not only make it harder for guns to fall into the wrong hands, but will also give law enforcement greater tools to protect communities – including our children – from gun violence. Let us not delay even one day more.” Read more: Sweeping Gun Safety Package Could Come To NJ With New Proposal