On Wednesday morning, I pulled up to Barton Hills Elementary to drop off my child, expecting nothing more than the usual chaos of backpacks, hugs and the rush to get to work. Minutes later, my phone buzzed with a text from the Austin school district: Shots had been fired in the neighborhood. The school was “safe,” the message said. But standing outside those doors, watching the confusion ripple across teachers’ faces, I felt the sharpest fear I’ve ever known: Was my child in danger?
