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Sandy Hook: 3 Things I Did and Still More To Do

Today is the 4th anniversary of the terrible mass killing of children and teachers at the Sandy Hook elementary school. On December 12, 2012 I wrote Newtown school shooting: 3 things I’ll be doing. Those three things were:

  • Sending appreciation
  • Planning reminders
  • Teaching my kids

There is more to do

In the four years since Sandy Hook there has been more school shootings, other mass killing or active killer events and significant changes in how EMS responds to these events as a Rescue Task Force.

activeshootertraining300I think my local public safety agencies are better prepared to prevent and respond to an active shooter. And our local schools are more secure/hardened than they were in 2012.

My kids are also four years older and ready for additional training. I will be sharing with them that Why ‘Move, Escape, or Attack’ is superior to ‘Run, Hide, Fight’.

I will also continue to teach my kids about firearms, self-defense and trusting their intuition to recognize danger.

Finally, I just finished reading “This is Where it Ends,” a novel about an active shooter at an Alabama high school. The story is told through the eyes and the voices of the students. It is quite compelling. All types of writing, fiction and non-fiction, can help us process and understand the perils of the world we live in.

By Greg Friese

Greg Friese, Stevens Point, Wisconsin, is an author, educator, paramedic, and marathon runner.

Greg was the co-host of the award winning EMSEduCast podcast, the only podcast by and for EMS educators. Greg has written for EMS1.com, JEMS.com, Wilderness Medical Associates, JEMS Magazine, EMSWorld.com and EMS World Magazine, and the NAEMSE Educator Newsletter.