Expert: Training, not laws, needed after theater...

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Expert: Training, not laws, needed aftertheater shootingBY STEPHEN LOIACONI | FRIDAY, JULY 24TH 2015

Law enforcement personnel stand near a police line at The Grand Theatre following a deadly shooting in Lafayette, La., Thursday, July 23, 2015. (Paul Kieu/TheDaily Advertiser via AP)

WASHINGTON (Sinclair Broadcast Group) — In the wake of the fatal shooting at a Louisiana

movie theater (http://kutv.com/news/nation-world/police-3-dead-in-movie-theater-shooting-

including-gunman) Thursday night, one expert advised that the key to avoiding mass shooting

casualties is training and preparation, not new laws and regulations.

“If laws were able to stop these things, we wouldn’t need police,” said Chris Grollnek, a former

Marine and police SWAT team member.

Police said Friday that 59-year-old John Russel Houser, who they described as a “drifter” from

Alabama, stood up 20 minutes into a screening of the Amy Schumer comedy “Trainwreck” at the

Grand 16 theater in Lafayette and opened fire, wounding nine people and killing two before

killing himself as police arrived.

" ""

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Police have not determined a motive for the attack.

Grollnek, whose company (http://cgpgmg.com/)specializes in active shooter prevention, said

there is no consistent profile of a mass shooting suspect, making it difficult to predict their

actions.

“It would be crazy for us to dismiss these people as crazy,” he cautioned, however, noting that

shooters are often calculated and intelligent and they are trying to outdo each other.

He suggested it is not a coincidence that the shooting occurred just days after the three-year

anniversary of James Holmes killing 12 people and wounding 70 others at a theater in Aurora,

Colorado. The penalty phase of Holmes’ trial, in which he is facing a possible death sentence,

has gotten extensive media coverage this week.

Grollnek said people’s response to tragedies like this is often either to call for more restrictive

gun laws or to arm themselves.

“Weapons are not going to solve the problem and gun laws are not going to solve the problem,”

he said.

Realistically, there is also only so much security that can be put in place at soft targets like

movie theaters.

“We don’t want to turn theaters into the TSA…turning them into some type of fortress that you

have to go through checkpoints to see a movie,” he said.

The public also should not cower in their homes in fear, though.

“We cannot fall victim to allowing these people to dictate that we shouldn’t go to the movies,”

he said.

Grollnek said movie theaters have a responsibility to train their staffs in threat detection,

surveillance, and prevention. He suggested that similar training—even just free training

available online (http://cgpgmg.com/active-shooter-training-videos/)—would be beneficial for

families as well.


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“We as a society just need to be more prepared. We live in a different world now than

yesterday” with the constant threat of terrorism and lone wolf attacks.

In the absence of professional training, however, he advised that families talk about and plan for

what to do in emergencies like this—know where the exits are, know how to get out, and where

to meet when you get to safety.

“Train your mind, train your family,” he said.

Grollnek praised the quick response of Lafayette police, noting that the average police

response time to an active shooter situation is often closer to 17 minutes—and the shootings

are typically over in less than seven.

I am grateful for the quick response of first responders. They saved lives last night. (1/3)9:19 AM - 24 Jul 2015

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The evil that exists in our world is stunning. But the stories of friends shielding friends from gunfire should give us all hope. (2/3)9:20 AM - 24 Jul 2015

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Since you cannot always count on the police to arrive in time to stop the gunman, Grollnek said

the best thing a person can do in an active shooter situation is get out of it.

The worst thing, and unfortunately sometimes the most natural thing, you can do is allow

yourself to be paralyzed with fear and freeze.

“A moving target’s harder to hit than a stationary target,” he said, and the shooter likely will be

thinking that as well. You want to get yourself, your family, and your friends out of their sight.

“We get up, we get low, we get out…Move away from the sound of gunfire.”

Grollnek cautioned against the idea of going after the gunman with your own firearm. When

police arrive on the scene, they are often acting with misinformation that there could be a

second shooter, and if they see your gun, they might shoot you.

Instead train yourself to identify and avoid danger, teach your children what to do, and have a

plan to get away, Grollnek said. “We have to rely on ourselves and our fellow citizens.”

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