In modern 20th century, one would expect lifestyles to become better – and safer. However, this ideology falls far from the truth that lives within communities today. During the last couple of months, the rate of crimes committed in the Katy Area has significantly rose at an alarming rate, causing much concern among families living in this area. The cause of this increase is still unknown at this moment. Officer Shamira Pitts is the Katy ISD Police Officer on campus.
“Just an increase in violence, maybe, I don’t know in particular. Each case is always different, so you really have to see the factors in each case. Some people may have guns, some people may not be cooperating with the police. You never know, it’s just hard to say,” said Pitts.
To this day, the annual crime number in Katy is around 881 cases, with 6 percent of them being violent. Although the numbers are not as high as the downtown Houston Area, which accumulates at a startling 128,115 crimes annually with 17 percent of them being violent, it still causes concerns for parents in the community. Furthermore, shooters tend to be hard to spot, despite their common characteristics of being isolated and sometimes mentally ill. However these traits are not always accurate, making it hard to notice immediate threats.
“It’s all about your intuition, your instinct. You know when things are out of order. You see people running, you see people screaming or, you hear somebody calling for help. You just know when something is out of the ordinary then you know your surroundings are different,” said Pitts.
While being a victim of a shooting, whether mass or not, is quite frightening, knowing what to do and how to handle these situations increases the chance at survival and reaching safety. Remember to stay rational with any decisions and to always think logically in those situations.
“You can run, you can hide, or you can fight. Never give up. Always, your safety is number one. So if you can run, run. If you have the opportunity to hide from a shooter, hide. If there’s more than one of you, take him on – you’ll save more lives. It all depends on how you want to do it,” said Pitts.
