ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — One week ago Wednesday, a gunman opened fire on a group of students attending mass at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis.

What You Need To Know

The Superintendent of Schools for the Diocese, Chris Pastura, said they are working closely with local law enforcement after last week’s shootings in Minneapolis

With 46 Catholic schools spanning five counties, and nearly 14,000 students, he said school security is a top priority

Pastura said the Diocese of St. Petersburg already took steps other Diocese have shied away from, like putting armed security guards in every school

Now, the Diocese of St. Petersburg is taking a look at its own safety protocols in local Catholic schools to see if there is anything they can improve on.

The Superintendent of Schools for the Diocese, Chris Pastura, said they are working closely with local law enforcement, and while he’s not able to go into too much detail, for obvious reasons, he said they are reviewing current policies, like the way mass is handled.

“All of our hearts are broken for our colleagues at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis, and we just want to assure them we are praying for them,” he said.

The tragic shooting last week in Minneapolis hit close to home for many Catholic families in Tampa Bay, including Pastura, and with 46 Catholic schools spanning five counties, and nearly 14,000 students, he said school security is a top priority.

“In working with all of our police departments and working with all of our principals, I think it’s safe to say we feel very good about where we’re at. Obviously, we can always be better and we continue to work on that,” he said.

Pastura said the Diocese of St. Petersburg already took steps other Diocese have shied away from, like putting armed security guards in every school. Pastura said they’re also taking a look at the way mass is handled in schools.

“A lot of that depends on the physical building, so sometimes the church is actually attached to the school which makes things easier,” he said. “So the geography is important, but what we’ve done is every single school, they’re talking to their local police department, doing evaluations, but we’re evaluating that entire reality.”

Pastura said it is important to their faith to maintain a strong sense of community, bringing families together, and that’s something they don’t want to lose. But ultimately, it comes down to student safety.

“We have faith in our people, we have faith in our God and I think with we need to transform our society to make it more loving and kind,” he said.

Pastura said he will be meeting with law enforcement officials in Tampa next week, which he regularly does. The Diocese also sent a letter to all families last week outlining all current safety and security protocols.