(NASHVILLE, Tenn.) — Nashville, Tennessee, Mayor John Cooper publicly called on lawmakers to pass an extreme risk protection law and take action on gun safety one week after a shooter killed six people at a local private school.

Tennessee has “some of the weakest gun laws in the country,” and the state needs to do a better job of keeping guns away from people at risk, Cooper said during a press conference Thursday. According to Cooper, the loosening of gun laws has contributed to an increase in gun violence, in addition to a rise in the number of guns stolen, particularly from car break-ins.

“The answer to too many guns just can’t be more guns,” Cooper said.

While there are several safety measures in place at schools, such as student resource officers for protection, that cannot be the whole solution, Cooper said. He called it “unacceptable” that parents, students and teachers go to school with fear for their safety.

“They all deserve answers as how do we improve to have a safer society? And it’s a shocking thing that our schools have to spend all this time not on instruction, but on safety drills. That’s not something that we should accept and Republican lawmakers need to be part of the answer,” he said.

The extreme risk protection law Cooper is calling for would keep guns out of the hands of people in crisis. Nineteen states have extreme risk protection laws on the books. While the specifics of the laws differ by state, they allow law enforcement and/or families to ask a judge to remove guns from people posing a risk to themselves or others.

“These kinds of extreme risk laws, often known as red flag laws, would have likely prevented or affected the last three mass shootings here in Nashville. That’s remarkable. One is Covenant School last week, one at the Waffle House in 2018 and one at Burnett Chapel Church of Christ in 2017,” Cooper said.

All three shooters had exhibited warning signs leading up to the shooting.

“I’ve spent several of the most recent days attending funerals, and these are memorials that should not be happening as often as they do in the United States. The murder weapons that stole six lives from us were legally purchased here and so were multiple other guns that the assailant had been stockpiling,” Cooper said.

The shooter at The Covenant School, a former student identified by police as 28-year-old Audrey Hale, allegedly planned the shooting for months.

Hale was armed with two assault-style rifles, a handgun and “significant ammunition” at the time of the attack, according to police. Authorities said Hale owned seven legally purchased guns from five different local stores. She fired 152 rounds during the March 27 shooting.

Hale had exhibited warning signs for dangerous behavior and was known to be a firearm owner, according to police.

“In the months leading up to the tragedy, the shooter was extremely disturbed, and her loved ones knew it. Her parents didn’t think she was stable enough to own guns and her friends were worried about the messages she was sending them,” John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety, said during the press conference.

“Now, obviously, there are no guarantees in life, but if Tennessee had an extreme risk law, family members and friends could have turned their fears into action,” Feinblatt said.

After the shooting, Republican Gov. Bill Lee and Lt. Gov. Randy McNally indicated they would support some gun safety measures, including laws that would keep guns away from people who pose a risk to themselves or others, according to local outlet The Tennessean.

The governor also proposed $140 million in funds for more school resource officers and guards, as well as an increase in mental health liaisons.

Cooper said he is “cautiously optimistic” that Tennessee lawmakers could pass an extreme risk protection law due to the support from senior leadership. Senior state leadership on both sides of the isle have indicated they support red flag laws, creating a path for such legislation, according to Cooper.

“We have to turn our grief into action. We have to honor those precious lives stolen from us and work together to do a better, safer future for all of us,” Cooper said. “And that’s a future that does not repeat last week’s events.”

“There has to be a better answer than no answer. Just silence on the subject is not acceptable to the public,” Cooper added.

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(CAMBRIDGE, Mass.) — Four Harvard University students were awakened by armed officers in their dorm rooms after a fake 911 call about a person with a “gun threatening violence” sent officers searching for the risk, according to students and public police logs.

“Things like that typically don’t end well for people who look like us,” student Jarah Cotton, who is Black and was in the dorm when it was raided, said in an interview with ABC News. “We thought we were going to die.”

Cotton, a senior at Harvard, said she was “jolted awake” by intense banging on one of the doors of her suite around 4 a.m. Monday morning.

According to the public police log, officers entered and searched the room, failing to find anyone with a firearm or someone acting suspicious. Officers reported they found no threat.

“I saw them in riot gear and like, they had their assault rifles and all that kind of stuff,” Cotton told ABC News.

Students were evacuated from their rooms as officials prepared to search them, Cotton said.

“We’re walking out, everybody’s like barefoot and pajamas, you know, frazzled,” said Cotton. “As Black students, we’ve all been taught that you do not argue with the police.”

She continued, “And we’re walking out with our hands up … we still don’t know what’s going on. So all that’s going through my mind is: I haven’t done anything. I’m sure none of my roommates have done anything to warrant this.”

According to Cotton, when officers failed to find anything wrong in the dorm suite, they explained that a series of phone calls were made to the Harvard University Police Department (HUPD) relaying very specific details about a hostage situation and gun threat in their suite.

HUPD spokesperson Steven G. Catalan confirmed that officers told students what was happening in an interview with The Harvard Crimson, a student newspaper at the university.

Massachusetts officials have seen a wave of hoax calls early this year, with threats shutting down K-12 schools and now impacting Harvard.

Faking an emergency that draws a response from law enforcement is what the FBI calls “swatting,” and it can be dangerous for both first responders and the victims because of the high-intensity and high-risk situations, officials said.

HUPD and Harvard University officials could not be reached by ABC News following multiple requests for comment.

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(TEXAS) — As Miah Cerrillo and Khloie Torres made their way to the stage at the Galveston Island Ballroom in Galveston Texas, the entire convention erupted in a standing ovation.

The two 11-year-old students—who called 911 during the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas—were honored with the Kid Hero Award at the 2023 Texas Public Safety Conference in Galveston, Texas. The event is set up by the Texas chapters of the National Emergency Number Association (NENA) and The Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO).

The award comes nearly a year after 19 children and two teachers were shot to death by an 18-year-old former Robb Elementary student, who attacked the school on May 24, 2022. Cerrillo and Torres placed calls to police from inside classroom 112, where the gunman killed their friends and teachers.

Cindy McCraw, Texas NENA President, told ABC News that the Kid Hero Award is typically given to a single child, but an exception was made this year to recognize both Cerrillo and Torres.

“This was so important that I felt that both girls needed to be nominated,” she said.

McCraw said that by taking action to call 911 during the shooting, Cerrillo and Torres didn’t just save themselves, they also saved other lives.

“The fact that they even remembered to call 911, that’s a big deal,” she said. “They could have frozen, they could have waited until everything was done and then called, or just waited for somebody to come, and they just didn’t freeze, they acted, and that right there is heroic.”

Abigale Veloz, Cerrillo’s mother, said she felt emotional about the recognition her daughter received.

“As Miah’s mother, I feel very proud, she’s a strong person, awesome daughter and a wonderful sister,” she said. “She will forever be my miracle baby. She has fought for her life her whole life since she was born, and she will continue. The good thing is that she does not fight alone, she has her whole family to fight with her and protect her.”

Parts of the 911 audio in which Torres is heard, were broadcast by ABC News in February with permission from her parents. In the audio, Torres urges the 911 operator to send police into the classroom.

“Please hurry, there’s a lot of dead bodies,” Torres said in the 911 call. “Please, I’m going to die.”

McCraw, who heard the 911 calls, emphasized their emotional impact.

“Listening to it just gives you chills, the whole thing is devastating,” McCraw said. “I’ve been doing this for 22 years and I’ve listened to a lot of audio throughout the years of active shooters, kid callers and different horrible things that have been called in and recorded, but it’s still very emotional.”

Moments before the awards ceremony, McCraw coordinated a meeting between the two survivors and the 911 dispatcher who was on the phone with them that day. The meeting, which was private, was a profound experience for the girls and their families.

“They seemed to appreciate the chance to meet, and I can only hope that it has provided them with the closure they needed,” McCraw said.

McCraw hopes it helps everyone involved.

“I just didn’t want that to be a void forever, it brings closure to both parties,” McCraw said. “The girls will never wonder what the person on the other line looks like, and hopefully that fills that void and brings closure to them as they go through their healing process.”

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