More parents asking how to prepare children for school shootings
Safe Kids Inc. is an organization that teaches kids how to protect themselves from attackers or in a violent event.
While it used to focus more on topics like stranger danger, school shootings have become the most popular topic that parents, students and teachers ask about on a daily basis.
"They had trained many schools to simply lock the doors, keep the bad person out, which sometimes works, but it's a single solution for a very dynamic problem," said Adam Coughran, president of Safe Kids Inc.
Coughran is a former police officer. His organization is made up of experienced members of law enforcement and educators. The company tours schools around the country, teaching what officials call "safe thinking and safe action," to ultimately save lives.
Coughran said his instruction teaches individuals have to react rather than just waiting, thus giving students and staff another option.
"We want to give a set of tools and a set of resources to where you aren't pigeonholed to just one response. 'This person is right next to me. I could push him or I could shove them. If I could throw something at them and try to get away after, then maybe that's the best,'" Coughran said.
WBAL-TV 11 also asked Coughran about Thursday's situation at Loch Raven High School, where a SWAT team arrested a student who was accused of bringing what was thought to be a real gun to school. The gun ended up being a pellet gun, officials said.
"While SWAT teams and multiple police officers showing up to school when nothing happens might seem like an overreaction, imagine if it was another possible school shooting and only two officers showed up and got quickly overcome by the fire power, or the person was trying to hurt them, then it would've been the complete opposite -- (that) we didn't do enough," Coughran said.
Coughran said parents need to talk to their kids and report anything strange.
"When their kids begin, 'Oh, maybe this person wants to hurt me. This is unusual. I don't like what they're saying or what they're doing,' tell somebody and start to prevent these things long before they ever happen," Coughran said.