Mississippi Office of Homeland Security holds Active Shooter Trainer in Vicksburg

VICKSBURG, Miss. (WLBT) - Training for an active shooter situation can be the difference between life or death.

Understanding what to do strategically and controlling your emotions is why the Mississippi Office of Homeland Security brought trainers to the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center.

Training Coordinator at MOHS, Laura Fosselman, talked about what they are doing for different agencies.

“Yesterday and today, 16 hour class, and it really emphasizes pressure, breathing techniques, how to clear a room, how to move forward, how to link together so that we can get as many officers into the scene so that we can in fact, stop the stop the monsters,” she said.

Controlling emotions is much easier said than done. It is a tactic that police officers, military officers, and even security guards have to understand.

Security Guard Milton Moore says he feels much better after hours in this training course.

“Even in this training, know you’re gonna get shot. It’s kind of scary. So you have to control your emotions,” he explained. “You have to control your breathing. You have to keep your partner’s emotions intact. So this training is very beneficial.”

An active shooting is a reality some people may not fully understand. Police Chief for the Vicksburg 1 School District Dewayne Sims talks to that and why people are fearful during those situations.

“So it’s very, very real,” Dewayne said. “And the reality is that it’s not going to stop. But the thing about it, and the reason why most people are fearful, is because they do not have a plan, and they are not training. So that’s for the civilians that don’t have a plan. For the ones that are training, you’re not training enough. So the more you train, the more confident you’re able to use those skills and strategies that active shooter presents.”

MOHS offers courses and events for you to be more prepared for any active shooting.

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