Third Active Shooter Training to be Offered this Friday

BUFFALO. N.Y. – In the wake of the shooting tragedies in Webster, New York and Newtown, Connecticut, U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that the United States Attorney’s Office is sponsoring the third training session dedicated to preventing mass shootings and violence. The focus of the training is protecting and preventing mass shooting episodes in businesses and similar commercial settings, and will be valuable for employers, employees, and members of law enforcement.

            "Active Shooter: Educate Yourself to Protect Yourself" will be held this Friday, April 19, 2013 from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at Hilbert College.  Participants will learn how to spot aggression in the workplace, appropriate response techniques to shooting episodes, what to do before police arrive, and tips on creating an emergency plan for business.

            The training is free and open to all businesses, large and small, in the 17 counties of the Western District of New York.  

"Our Office is committed to prosecuting those who commit violence in our community, but this response is after-the-fact," said U.S. Attorney Hochul.  “It is even more important that the public learn from experts in the field exactly how to protect staff and facilities in the first place.  Our first two trainings focused on officer response and safety in the school systems. This third training – focusing on the work place- is an important piece in our overall strategy of making Western New York one of the safest communities in the country."

            U.S. Attorney Hochul noted that more than 1,600 people attended the first two training sessions, "Street Survival and Officer Safety" and "Understanding Human Aggression and Violence, and Making Our Schools Safe," held in February and March, respectively. Hochul predicted that the third training will also be well attended, given that it will be conducted by professionals with a long history of work in the field. Speakers include James H. Robertson, Delaware North Companies Director of Corporate Securities and former Special Agent in Charge of the Buffalo FBI Office, George W. Gast, Niagara Frontier Transit Authority Chief of Police and also a former member of the FBI, including the FBI’s Hostage Rescue Team, and Gary M. Everett, Canisius College Director of Public Safety. 

            U.S. Attorney Hochul said that "There is no single solution to preventing all violent crime. Certainty denial - or mere hope - is not a strategy for preventing violence. By working collaboratively, we all can be prepared to prevent and respond to the next episode should it ever occur."     

            Friday's event is sponsored by the U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of New York; the Better Business Bureau of Upstate New York; the Niagara Frontier Transit Authority Police; Delaware North Companies; Medaille College; Hilbert College; Canisius College Public Safety; Erie County Law Enforcement Foundation; ASIS International; and Greater Buffalo Metropolitan Crime Stoppers.