As schools across the nation face increased security threats this week in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook active shooter event, officials in schools as well as the workplace are engaging in Active Shooter Response Training such as that offered by MSA Security.
MSA Security, an industry leader in high consequence threat protection, takes the growing concern following the mass shooting that took place at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, seriously, and is offering administrators and teachers an opportunity to address security vulnerabilities. Schools and universities in the New York Tri-State area are being offered free Threat & Risk Assessments by MSA.
The shooting at Sandy Hook has school officials across the country reviewing their security policies and safety procedures in light of the event. Teachers, parents, children, and local and federal officials are looking for ways to add deeper layers of security to their schools, businesses, and organizations. Given the heightened public concern surrounding the incident, MSA is offering school officials a chance to have their campuses and institutions assessed for potential vulnerabilities and risks.
"At MSA, we're parents and also retired law enforcement officers, so there's an emotional connection for all of us during a tragedy like this," said Michael O'Neil, President of MSA Security. "We want to offer our experience and expertise to institutions or individuals that could be impacted by an event such as the one that took place at Sandy Hook."
MSA stresses the importance of providing school officials with the necessary tools to help them address the marked increase in violence in schools across the U.S. Within the last five years, there have been at least 15 prominent, high-casualty producing active shooter incidents. Most of these cases have occurred in locations where the shooter has been undeterred and unobstructed from carrying out their attack. In addition to the recent shooting in Connecticut, similar active shooter events in Aurora, Colorado and Oak Creek, Wisconsin have caused members of the security industry to reexamine their policies and training procedures associated with the active shooter phenomena. School officials should likewise engage in additional education and shooter response training to help them prepare for these high-risk, and highly unexpected events.
Designed to keep schools and the workplace safe, MSA Security recommends schools engage in Active Shooter Response Training. This daylong training course offered by MSA focuses on the four common categories of violence and provides strategies to help officials identify and alleviate such occurrences.