LAPD, LAUSD increase campus patrols after Connecticut school shooting

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Los Angeles police are increasing patrols around the city’s schools in the aftermath of the rampage Friday at a Newtown, Conn., elementary school.

Cmdr. Matt Blake, who is overseeing the LAPD’s response, said department officials are coordinating with their counterparts at the Los Angeles Unified School District’s police force to increase police presence at the district’s hundreds of campuses, as well as at private schools throughout the city.

Officers in each of the LAPD’s 23 stations have been instructed to touch base with schools in their patrol areas, Blake said.

PHOTOS: Shooting at Connecticut elementary school

The increased visibility is meant to calm parents fears following the Newtown shooting, Blake said, adding there is no indication that someone could attempt to commit a copy-cat attack.

‘Our job is not only to stop crimes, but to try to put nerves at rest,’ he said.

Officers are also contacting school officials to review their plans for how to keep students and faculty safe in the event of a shooting, Blake said. In addition, supervisors at each LAPD station and specialized units have been instructed to review response plans for active-shooter scenarios, he said.

At least one gunman attacked a suburban Connecticut elementary school Friday morning, killing at least two dozen people, including 18 children, law enforcement sources said. Other reports placed the number of dead at 27, including the children.

At a televised news conference from Newtown, State Police spokesman Lt. Paul Vance refused to give an exact number of victims, pending notification of the families.

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-- Joel Rubin

Follow Joel Rubin on Twitter.