Paris-Henry Co. Chamber hosts active shooter survival training

HENRY COUNTY, Tenn. — Officials say there have been nearly 200 mass shootings in the United States since the turn of the century.

And recent shootings, such as the one at the Black & Decker plant in Jackson, are making West Tennesseans eager to have a plan.

“You’ve seen what happened in Jackson recently at the Black & Dekker plant, what happened over in Athens, Tennessee, so it’s not something that happens somewhere else,” Special Agent Joesph Hudgins said.  “It’s something that happens in Tennessee as well.”

The Paris-Henry County Chamber of Commerce hosted training on Friday about surviving an active shooter. The event brought out around 50 people, many of them business owners.

“It’s very important to know what happens if somebody walks into my small business with a weapon. I don’t know really exactly what I should do,” said Kevin Buie, Chamber president-elect.

Hudgins says there are three key steps in any active shooter scenario — run, hide and fight.

“First thing you want to do is run,” Hudgins said. “If you can’t run, you want to barricade yourself in a room, provide yourself some protection. And the very last thing, if all else fails, you’re going to have to do something, and we recommend fighting.”

Hudgins shared example after example of life-saving techniques, but he says the main takeaway is simple — to have a plan.

“Have a plan, think about if I find myself in this situation what would I do, how would I handle it, what actions would I take, because it has been proven over time that if you do nothing in this situation, your chances of surviving it are reduced greatly.”