Local law enforcement hosts church active shooter workshop

MCNAIRY COUNTY, Tenn. — Local law enforcement hosted a free workshop in light of violence at churches in our state and across the country as a packed crowd filled Crazy K Ranch.

The community came together to discuss an ongoing situation in our country with church mass shootings as the McNairy County Sheriffs Office and Emergency Management Agency prepares and helps them to be more proactive.

“What we teach here works everywhere in any church and any building so you’ll be prepared even if you don’t know that church specifically or where the doorways go and stuff you’ll know that if something bad happens. You’ll have the knowledge and the skills to hopefully survive,” said EMA Director Allen Strickland.

Strickland and Sheriff Guy Buck ran through several different ways to protect yourself including run, hide, fight and offered the floor for public input.

“You can wait for law enforcement but you know we are going to be there after the event we’re gonna respond after it happens and we want everybody to at least have that knowledge out there that there are measures you can take there are steps you can take to be proactive and try to help yourself,” said Sheriff Buck.

Organizers said they were impressed so many people came to the presentation. The most important thing they want people to take away from Tuesday’s presentation is for them to be aware as a shooting can happen anywhere.

“It’s just real there’s no other way to put it we can put our heads in the sand and hide from it, but we would much rather at least give people the education to make an informed decision about what they wanna do,” said Sheriff Buck.

If you’d like to learn more about preparing yourself or your church in an emergency situation, follow this link: http://bit.ly/2zNJw5G