"We were able to put an AR-15 rifle and safes in all of our schools in the county," Sheriff Buddy Harwood told the Asheville Citizen-Times.
We’ve got extra magazines with ammo in those safes.".
Harwood said the rifles will ideally allow police to quickly defend against a school shooting.
Harwood criticized the police that responded to the Uvalde shooting saying the time they took to respond to the shooting cost lives.
"I do not want to have to run back out to the car to grab an AR, because that’s time lost.
Hopefully we’ll never need it, but I want my guys to be as prepared as prepared can be," he added.
Gun violence overall spiked in 2020, but recent statistics indicate it is coming down this year in many cities. »