CONCORD, Va. – The United States reached a new deadly record.
The first six months of this year saw the most mass killings to date. From Jan. 1 to June 30, the U.S. lost 140 lives in 28 mass killings, all but one involving guns.
On Friday, Marko Galbreath, the owner and instructor at T4Tactics in Lynchburg, teamed up with Gleaning For The World in Concord to host a free active shooter response training for the community.
Organizers say while it’s a grim reality, it’s one everyone needs to prepare for.
“We’re trying to get people to realize, unfortunately, that active shooter attacks are a reality,” Galbreath said. “We want to let people from churches, businesses, facilities even in our personal lives know that if I see something, I need to say something. Act on that gut feeling.”
Galbreath says to stay aware of your surroundings, watch for behavioral changes, and get out of a dangerous situation as soon as possible.
“We’re in a violent society,” Galbreath said. “It’s sad. It’s a mental illness issue is what it is.”
Howard Gregory is a retired Virginia State Police captain and head of the safety team at Liberty Baptist Church. He attended the training and says his takeaway is: if you see something, say something.
“Bring it to the attention of the proper authorities, be it the human resources division at work or principal at a school,” Gregory said. “Or to law enforcement. But take some action. Don’t just go into a phase of denial.”
With just a couple weeks left until students return to the classroom, Galbreath emphasized the need for prevention, even at an early age. He recommends increased counseling and anti-bullying programs in schools.
“We should also have programs where kids aren’t bullied,” Galbreath said. “These attacks can be prevented through proper training and awareness and then mitigation.”