AG distributes 1,050 training videos on school shootings

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine’s office said Friday it is sending a video to all Ohio school districts, plus charter schools and private schools, to help administrators, teachers and school employees have the knowledge they need if they ever face a school shooting crisis.

“Quite frankly, I hope it’s knowledge no one in Ohio will ever have to use from this day forward,” DeWine said in a news release. “But the reality is if there’s a school shooting, teachers, principals, janitors and others who work in that school become first responders. Our goal is to help them plan, train and prepare, with the help of local law enforcement partners.”

The video, “School Shootings: How to be Aware, Prepare, and be a First Responder in a Crisis,” is an extension of in-person training that’s been offered to educators around the state since January, through the Attorney General’s Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy in London.

“We sent 1,050 videos. This includes private and charter schools,” Jill Del Greco, a DeWine spokeswoman, said Friday.

So far, 4,262 participants have attended 24 training sessions by training academy instructors. Another 41 sessions will be held by year end, according to the attorney general’s office.

The in-person training and video include information about law enforcement experts have learned about shooters in incidents like the shootings in Chardon, Columbine and Virginia Tech. The course also covers how to identify potential threats and reduce the danger of deadly escalation, how to coordinate with school administrators and law enforcement in the face of a real-time threat, and how to save lives.

“As we remember each and every school shooting tragedy across the country and here in Ohio, may it serve as a reminder we need to train for the unthinkable event,” DeWine said.

Dick Caster, the Ohio School Boards Association’s senior school board services consultant, said he hasn’t seen the video but he applauds DeWine’s aggressive attitude to help school leaders become better prepared.

“I think it’s necessary given the times we live in. Look at Boston this week,” Caster said.

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