“We have to do better,” he said in noting most active shooting incidents last less than 10 minutes.
Birk said the Division of Police had received multiple calls since last weekend’s mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and in Dayton’s Oregon District. He said a mass shooting is an incident with four or more people who are shot or killed, excluding the perpetrator.
He praised the swift response by Dayton police officers who neutralized the shooter in 24 seconds after the first shots were fired. The perpetrator, Connor Betts of Bellbrook, was able fire 41 shots, killing nine people and wounding more than two dozen others before police shot and killed him.
He said active shooters are looking to make an impact for immediate attention and look for many targets in a concentrated area with little resistance.
Birk said the hour-long session was meant to give some basic ALICE (Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter and Evacuate) training, which outlines what people can do in an active shooter situation.
“We want people to be trained in the same way,” he said. “You have to be prepared to act.”
Birk said Middletown police have made at least 75 active shooter presentations just in the past three years to schools, businesses, churches and other organizations. He also said police can provide this training to any group interested.
Since the Dayton shootings, Birk said police are continuing to review protocols as well as review any information or intelligence from the incident in the Oregon District. He said police learned so much from the 2016 shooting incident at Madison Jr./Sr. High School.
“I thought it was awesome,” said Rhonda Carter. “There was a lot of awesome information.”
Kristi Brooks, who works as a cafeteria worker for the Middletown City Schools, said the presentation was “very informative.”
“It was good for me to know what to do,” she said. “Glad we came for a refresher.”
Lexie Carter, a Carlisle High School freshman, said she wished that there had been more students at the session on Monday.
ALICE - Options for an active shooting incident
ALERT: Screams, gunshots, seeing the perpetrator, receiving texts, calling 911 with descriptions, location and type and number of weapons.
LOCKDOWN: Lock the door; cover windows; keep away from door; barricade the door, look for escape routes; silence cell phones; gather anything that could used as a weapon for a counterattack on perpetrator.
INFORM: Give 911 information in plain language; provide real-time updates to 911; inform others via text, social media, etc.
COUNTER: Only as a last resort and when in immediate danger. Do not be afraid to fight for you life. Throw items at the shooters head, scream, yell, run around and cause chaos, attack and swarm, secure weapon in a trash can, and provide first aid to those injured.
EVACUATE: Decide if that is the action to take. Run in a zigzag pattern, break out windows, attempt to fall into shrubbery rather than concrete, and don't approach responding officers unless you have information about the perpetrator.
SOURCE: Middletown Division of Police
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