MADISON, Wis. — In the wake of the Abundant Life Christian School shooting last month, Gov. Tony Evers signed an executive order Tuesday to create a new Office of Violence Prevention.
The governor described the office as a way to “connect the dots” between state and local agencies, including law enforcement. He said the office will also administer grants to firearm dealers, non-profits and local school districts and law enforcement agencies. Evers said he is putting an initial $10 million in federal pandemic funds to back the office.
The announcement comes less than a month after Rubi Vergara and Erin West were both killed in the shooting on Madison’s east side, which marked Wisconsin’s deadliest school shooting. The announcement is also the second time a governor has taken action in the wake of a deadly school shooting — former Gov. Scott Walker created the Wisconsin Office of School Safety in the wake of the Parkland, Fla., shooting.
“This should never happen, not to any kid, not to any educator, not to any person or family, not in the state or anywhere in this country,” Evers, a former teacher, said Tuesday. “I’ve said from the beginning that I would never accept gun violence as a foregone reality or stop working to change it, and that’s why we’re here today.”…