Area safety council to simulate active shooter scenario

Avery Kreemer, Journal-News, Hamilton, Ohio
·2 min read

Aug. 20—The Greater Hamilton Safety Council will soon host a class meant to help residents understand what they should do in active shooter situations.

Betty Jordan, the manager of the safety council, said the committee offered a similar meeting over five years ago, and felt it should be offered again "... in light of all the shootings that we have been having this past year."

"It seems like it's every day, just about, there's some kind of shootings, [so] we thought that we'd like to present this again to the community to help out," Jordan said.

This class is a change from the council's usual focus, which tends to be on topics like defensive driving, CPR certification or other niche safety training scenarios.

Jordan said she sent notice of the meeting out to local businesses and has gotten a strong response.

"We've got about 80 companies that are going to be sending people out to do the training. So, it's been pretty successful as far as people wanting it," Jordan said. The training will be conducted by the Butler County Safety Director and the Hamilton Police Department.

Jordan said the council considered opening the training to the public, but decided against it this time.

"We were afraid that we would run out of room," she said.

"Probably, we'll do it again if the response [is good] and the need is there," Jordan said. "It might even be a yearly thing or an every-six-months thing."

The class will be at 9 a.m. Thursday.

Active shooter scenario trainings are becoming more routine. Recently, Middletown Police conducted a drill in Middletown Schools in light of the May 24 mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas in which 17 students and two teachers were killed by an armed intruder.

School security forces combined with Middletown Police SWAT and other officers in a takeover of the high school and middle school campus during one of the largest active shooter safety drills in city schools' history. Middletown Police Chief David Birk said the drills went largely as planned for the three-hour window on Aug. 1 where the campus was closed off to the public.