Youngstown Diocese launches safety task force following Minneapolis Catholic school shooting

The Catholic Diocese of Youngstown is launching a special safety task force to review security measures at Catholic schools and parishes across the Valley following this week’s deadly shooting at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis.

Two children were killed and more than a dozen people were injured in the attack.

Police and federal agents are still investigating the shooter’s motive, recovering hundreds of pages of writings describing racial, political and religious hate.

In the wake of that tragedy, Youngstown Bishop David Bonnar said in a letter to parents that student and parishioner safety remains his “utmost priority.”

The letter announced that on-site safety inspections will begin next week in Mahoning County and expand to all schools across the Diocese.

“Even in our churches, it seems, our children are not completely free from danger,” Bishop Bonnar said, “We thank the many first responders, teachers, and community members who acted heroically to keep the tragedy from being even worse.”

The task force will be led by Dr. Steven Jones, Superintendent of Catholic Schools, and Deacon Bill Bancroft, a retired Ohio State Highway Patrol officer and the Diocese’s Director of Safety Services.

Jones said the goal is to bring together law enforcement, first responders and school leaders to coordinate best practices and make building-specific recommendations.

“We’ll visit every site and make on-site recommendations with first responders and law enforcement,” Jones said, “Where’s the best place for our kids to be in an emergency? What do local police, firefighters, and EMTs need from us so that when they arrive, everybody’s ready to go?”

Jones confirmed that on-site inspections, originally planned for October, will now begin next week in Mahoning County before moving across the six-county Diocese.

Those inspections will examine security cameras, door locks, lighting and best practices for emergencies to ensure policies are properly implemented.

“We have cameras at every school, but are they focused in the right place? Do we have good sightlines of visibility?” Jones said, “One of the schools I visited last year had a beautiful field of trees out front, but it limited visibility outside.”

He said recent grants have kept schools technologically up to date but emphasized that human error remains the greatest risk.

“No matter how good your door locks are, if the door is propped open, it doesn’t matter,” Jones said, “We’ll be looking for those gaps and making immediate suggestions to keep things safer.”

Later this year, principals and school leaders will receive specialized training from the Ohio School Safety Center on evaluating risks and preventing potential threats.

Jones said each inspection will result in an on-site report that will be reviewed directly with principals and parish leaders to prioritize fixes and track progress.

“Our goal is to make Catholic schools as safe as we can so they can focus on educating the hearts, minds, and souls of our children," he said.