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Houston Crime Stoppers offering free active shooter training for schools, community
Crime Stoppers of Houston, in partnership with JetBlue, presented active shooter training to its staff and local law enforcement. FOX 26's Natalie Hee shares how the trainings are expected to help in the wake of a deadly mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas.
HOUSTON - Following the deadly massacre in Uvalde, Governor Greg Abbott has instructed state officials to conduct "unannounced intruder audits" at school districts.
This comes as organizations across the country, revisit active shooter training to better prepare themselves in an emergency.
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Random, unannounced inspections will now be the norm in Texas school districts after Governor Greg Abbott instructed school safety officials to conduct in-person audits this week. The goal is to pinpoint which schools have weak access points for intruders.
The order comes a week after 19 children and two teachers were killed at an elementary school in Uvalde. Gov. Abbott and other elected officials have faced mounting pressure from the public to do more to keep kids in the school safe.
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On Thursday, Crime Stoppers of Houston in partnership with JetBlue, presented active shooter training to its staff and local law enforcement; the information came from mass shooting survivors like Kristina Anderson from Virginia Tech.
"The psychology behind an active shooter event is that if you’ve never in your brain thought about what you would do, those pathways for action are not created in your brain, and therefore you would likely freeze," said Sydney Zuiker, the Director of Safe Community Institute at Crime Stoppers of Houston. "The analogy of run, hide, fight; they’re talking about being aware of at least two exits everywhere you go.
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"My mom was a substitute teacher for years and years," said Nichole Christoph, Deputy Director of Crime Stoppers of Houston. "She would call me like every other day "there’s another threat at the school. What do I do?" And I would say, 'Mom, you run first. If you can’t run, you hide. And if you can’t hide, then you fight for your life."
Experts suggest familiarizing yourself with all exit locations at a public place and recognizing the old saying that repetition and practice makes perfect.
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"A student in Sandy Hook, he and his family had walked through some of the things they should do, and he knew that the second that intruder were to reload his gun that he had just a couple of seconds to escape," said Zuiker. "He ended up jumping out of a window and going to a neighbor’s house to call his mom."
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The active-shooter training presentation lasts approximately 45 minutes and is offered free of charge to communities and schools. Anyone interested in booking this presentation can make a request by clicking here.