Virginia Invests 2.4 Million for State-Wide Active Shooter Trainings

Multiple law enforcement and first responder agencies participate in an active shooter exercise on the campus of Biola University in La Mirada, Calif., on Feb. 28, 2023. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin recently announced $2.4 million to help train civilians, law enforcement, and emergency personnel to respond most effectively to an active shooter emergency. “This program will build a culture of preparedness by increasing consistent and coordinated first responder training and civilian education,” Youngkin said in a press statement. The Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) active shooter trainings are a part of the Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training (ALERRT) program, which utilizes a whole-of -community approach. The ALERRT program has been used to train law enforcement since 2002, including the FBI. According to the FBI 2022 Active Shooter Incident Report, there were 50 active shooter incidents that year, leading to 313 casualties and 100 dead. The report says that Texas had the most incidents (six) followed by Arizona, Florida, Michigan, and New York—each with three. To be best prepared for active shootings, it is important for all community members to be aware and trained. “The days of citizens hiding and hoping until help arrives are no longer an acceptable form of mitigation,” the DCJS active shooter training website reads. These trainings are open to all Virginians, including the police, first responders, civilians, and educational institutions, and will be made available virtually or in person. The funding will provide DCJS active shooter training with a one-time $1.55 million for equipment and include funding of $288,000  per year for three years, enough to fund 16 law enforcement courses and 48 civilian courses each year. “Law enforcement and civilian participation in the ALERRT program will ensure our communities are provided with the best, state-of-the-art training and research in how to prepare, respond, and recover from an active attack,” said Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security Bob Mosier. The teachers at the Nashville private Christian school were trained in active shooter preparedness by Defense Systems, an organization founded by a former law enforcement officer, Brink Fidler. He told a local news outlet that the teachers did exactly as they were trained. Mourners observe the makeshift memorial at The Covenant School in the Green Hills neighborhood of Nashville, on March 31, 2023. Chase Smith/The Epoch Times “We had talked to them specifically about where to go if that does happen. On why two sides of the building were bad, and why two sides of the building were better,” Fidler told WSMV. “And both of those things happened. They went exactly where we talked about.” Moreover, the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department’s academy instructor for active shooter training, Sgt. Justin Coker said it is important for the public to learn about how to survive an active shooter situation as well, should they be found in such a scenario. “The horrible new norm that we’re forced to deal with these days is not a one-person problem, it’s not a one-agency problem, and it’s not a one viewpoint problem,” Coker told The Epoch Times. “There’s several of us that all have to work together to make sure that we’re safer in our communities in these situations. We’re not saying this stuff to breed fear. That’s absolutely not it. This is 100 percent a personal safety program.”

Chase Smith contributed to this report.