States like Utah, Texas and Tennessee and others have laws on the books that allow school staff and teachers to be armed while in school buildings and on campuses. Ohio has had armed school staff for over ten years now. In March of 2013, I was one of the two dozen school staff members (out of 1200 applicants) attending the first Response to Active Shooter Training at Tactical Defense Institute in Ohio.
The intense three-day, 24 hours of training included developing a defensive mindset, a history of active killers, firearms skills, trauma aid techniques, and force-on-force scenarios. Since then, the course, a program called FASTER Saves Lives, has evolved.
There is now an additional three hours of medical trauma care and five hours of a foundational firearms class included. I’ve been fortunate to be part of this program since the beginning and have met many of the staff that now have a tool they can use to stop an active killer and save their students.
I believe strongly that an armed person in a school building is the only way to stop a killer from murdering innocent children. Yes, it’s cliche, but the only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is to have a good guy with a gun.
Some school districts out in the country may have up to a 40-minute wait for law enforcement to arrive. They know their only hope to stop an active killer is to take matters into their own hands.
Even if law enforcement is nearby, consider the following:
When the shooting begins, someone must identify what’s happening. (No, it’s not someone lighting fireworks or hammering something on another floor.) Then that person has to call 911.
Dispatch answers, understands the situation and relays it to law enforcement. Police now make their way to the school.
Once there, they have to enter the building, search for the killer, then end the confrontation. How long could that take? How long would it seem like if you’re in the building hiding from the killer?
It’s now a well-established fact that a faster response in active killer situations results in fewer lives lost. Carrying a firearm in a school isn’t for everyone. Candidates must have the proper mindset and shooting skills.
The purpose of having armed staff isn’t to replace police or EMTs, but to have on-site personnel who have been trained and have the tools they need to stop active killers as quickly has possible and render medical aid immediately.
Find more information about the FASTER program at FASTERsaveslives.org.
The first step in ending a bad guy with a gun, is for the good guy to have a “gun”.
The problem is this training really revolves around a 9mm handgun design. It doesn’t involve 32acp, or 22lr, or 380, and no 38 special.
All the above are far more easy to conceal than a 9mm handgun. Teacher’s are not going to open carry. There are handgun retention issues.
I pocket carried a beretta 21a while I attended college. And I carried a Henry AR7 rifle in my book bag. Because 10 years ago shootings on schools grades k thru college level were happening it seemed about every month.
Schools have plenty of fire extinguishers on hand, even though the fire department responds to fires…
Bingo! Available AEDs and advanced first aid/trauma kits are beginning to multiple, too. And how about the fire drills and storm drills that never seemed to bother kids but defense drills do?
somebody tell the dopes at Brown University please.
“The purpose of having armed staff isn’t to replace police…” It’s also to provide a deterrent. “Staff members are armed and will use necessary force to protect children and staff from attempts of violence.”