Union County Prosecutor William A. Daniel, Union County Sheriff Peter Corvelli, Union County Police Chiefs Association President/Cranford Township Police Chief Ryan J. Greco and Interim Executive County Superintendent Daryl Palmieri issue this joint statement on the recent fatal shootings at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, and a Buffalo, New York, supermarket on May 24, 2022 and May 14, 2022, respectively.

The massacre of innocent children, our elderly, or any American, cannot be tolerated in our society, and yet these horrific acts of senseless violence continue.  Even at a time when gun violence is on the rise, it shocks the conscience that it is our children and senior citizens who were targeted and brutalized.  The actions of cowards – one in Buffalo and now one in Texas – who chose to arm themselves with assault weapons and body armor, and attack defenseless school children and elderly innocents are unimaginably evil in every respect.  We unequivocally condemn these horrific acts, and our hearts go out to the grieving communities of Buffalo, Uvalde, and throughout America. 

We assure our Union County communities, and especially our citizen parents, that we have significant intelligence and response systems in place among our school officials and our Local, State, County and Federal law enforcement agencies.  We immediately investigate any information regarding potential shooting or threats of violence, especially relating to our schools.  Protection of our citizens, especially our children, is the highest priority of all our law enforcement partners.

God bless those deceased Texas children and Buffalo victims, as well as those who tried to protect them.  We urge our Federal legislators to take appropriate action to help us all fight against these senseless rampages.

It is critical that the public report any and all suspicious activity to law enforcement.  Members of the community are asked to be alert and provide information to law enforcement so that they can investigate and mitigate potential threats.  If you see something, say something.  In order to report suspicious activity, the public should contact their local police department and in an emergency call 911.  Non emergent public tips can also be provided anonymously by calling (908)654-8477 or (908) 654-TIPS. Parents and community members can contact Mr. Palmieri if they have any concerns at 908-654-9860.  Public tips can be reported to the Union County Prosecutor’s Office at ucsars@ucnj.org

Media inquiries concerning this press release should be directed to the Union County Prosecutor’s Public Information Officer at msheets@ucnj.org or 908-558-2054.