At local schools, grim, familiar conversations about safety resume the day after Texas shooting

A day after an 18-year-old shooter killed at least 21 people at a Texas elementary school, Boston-area parents said they were shaken by the news and worried about safety in schools.

Seda Agunanyan, the parent of a 10-year-old at Northeast Elementary School in Waltham, said she has already had difficult conversations with her daughter about the Texas shooting.

“My little one, she was in shock, actually,” Agunanyan said. “It’s hard to talk about it and meanwhile it’s hard for them to listen. But it’s something we all have to do — to talk with them. I tried to make her calm, telling her the school is safe, everyone is doing their best to make the school safe.”

Varshan Papikan, the parent of a Waltham High student, said the country has been going through very challenging times that may require reconsidering school safety policies. He said the Texas shooting shocked him.

“With small kids... it just doesn't fit. I mean, who could do that?” But he added, “it's just what happens to the society in general, and things we never could even imagine before.”

At Samuel Adams Elementary School in East Boston, Alejandro, a parent who declined to give his last name, waited in his car to pick up his 10-year-old daughter, and said he had reached out to the school about boosting safety for students.

“The truth is it’s painful and concerning [to parents]. I think the situation is serious, and the federal government isn’t doing anything, and neither are local governments,” he said, speaking in Spanish. “From my point of view, there needs to be security. Security outside of the school, inside of the schools, so that they check when kids leave, and when adults are entering.”

He said when he visits the school to talk to teachers, all he does is ring a doorbell, and he’s let in without being asked who he is, or what he wants.

“Because I can go in like that, so can any other person,” Alejandro said.

Alejandro said he has a 16-year-old daughter at Charlestown High School, where two guns were found last week.

“They found two guns, one in the bathroom and one in another spot,” he said. “We need to be putting attention on these situations in the schools.”

Several local police departments said they were boosting security around schools Wednesday — and perhaps for the foreseeable future.

“In light of the tragedy in Texas, we will have increased police presence at all of our local schools,” the Medfield police department tweeted Wednesday morning. “There is no current threat to our community. It is our hope to help staff and families feel more comfortable and protected.”

In Belmont, there was an increased police presence in schools Wednesday. Superintendent of Schools John Phelan announced that the School Committee will also host a community safety forum on Tuesday, May 31, “to provide an update on our protocols and to listen to concerns and feedback. The Police Chief, Fire Chief, and Director of Facilities will be present to discuss, listen and support our safety work.”

Tensions were already high in the community following a May 11 bomb threat at Belmont High School and photos posted on social media from inside a middle school Tuesday night that were “concerning” to local police.

“Belmont Public Schools, in partnership with all of our Town partners, will continue to work tirelessly to ensure our schools and our community remain safe places to live and learn,” Phelan pledged.