Law Enforcement, School Admin. Train For Active Shooter Incidents
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Deadly mass shootings are on the rise. In an effort to cut down on these tragedies, experts are taking an active role to educate Maryland communities.
Tracey Leong has more on this public safety move.
More than 150 people from law enforcement to school administration came together for this summit, where they're learning that preparation can save lives.
The Columbia mall mass shooting in January and the Washington Navy Yard mass shooting last September were two tragedies that scarred our community.
"It could happen to you. There's no locality that's immune from this type of situation," said Thomas Reynolds, former U.S. Capitol Police assistant chief.
Inside Loyola University Maryland, there was a chilling reminder for those wanting to end them.
"Once you've lived through one of these things and you've done OK, somehow you're an expert, which we know is not true," said Captain John McKissick, Howard County Police.
Captain McKissick from the first commander on scene at the Mall in Columbia. He says dissecting these cases is what will help them prepare.
"We do research on what happened in the past--to see what tactics they use, to see what new things they are coming up with," said William Davis, Advanced Leadership Consortium.
By focusing on shooters' profiles, they provide theories on the killers.
"The most important thing is to understand that there's almost always a long trail of warning signs," said psychologist Dr. Peter Langman.
Interventions are the best approach for prevention. If that fails, it's preparation for responding to an active shooter.
Experts say to run--get away if you can; to hide--get out of their view; and the last resort--fight to disrupt them.
The training doesn't stop there. The goal is to take the lessons they learned at the summit and bring it back to their departments.
Before 2008, there were about five active shooting incidents a year. After 2008, it increased to more than 16 annually.
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