WEBB — A lone gunman is threatening students and staff at West Tallahatchie High School, and local law enforcement must act quickly to save lives.
It might be only a scenario, but such incidents are ripped from real-life headlines far too often these days.
The FBI defines an active shooter as "one or more individuals actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a populated area."
According to FBI statistics, in the 20-year period from 2000 to 2019, there were 333 active shooter incidents in the United States. In 2020 and 2021 alone, there were 101 such occurrences, the FBI noted.
Explains the FBI, "The active aspect of the definition inherently implies the ongoing nature of an incident, and thus the potential for the response to affect the outcome."
A deliberate, coordinated response can mean the difference between life and death, whether on the federal, state or local level.
To prepare local lawmen for an event they hope to never face, a quartet of instructors from the DeSoto County SWAT team was at West Tally on Feb. 25 for active shooter training.
“DeSoto County SWAT offers this training, and we thought it would be good for us to get it here in Tallahatchie County in light of everything that’s going on right now,” said Tallahatchie County Sheriff Jimmy Fly.
He noted that 20 law enforcement personnel representing police departments in Charleston, Glendora, Sumner and Webb, as well as the Tallahatchie County Sheriff’s Office and both the East and West Tallahatchie school districts, took part in the all-day class.
Fly noted that a native Charlestonian, Sgt. Antone Curtis, along with Sgt. Jeremy Haywood, Deputy Daniel Pounders and Deputy Brian Brock led the training.
“They taught tactics on how to safely enter an active shooter situation, how to safely clear rooms and buildings, and more,” said Fly, who noted that the methods can be utilized in other venues, too.
“The tactics they taught, you don’t have to necessarily apply them just to school shootings,” he noted. “It could be a threatening situation in a home, an office, a business. You can apply them to several different instances.”
Fly expressed appreciation to all who participated in the training and gave special thanks to Sumner Police Chief Maurice Brooks, “who helped to put the class together.”
For additional information about active shootings, the FBI website features a page on "Active Shooter Safety Resources."
