As the old saying goes, it’s better to be safe than sorry.

Preparation is the key to success in any endeavor, and that’s especially true in regard to responding to an active shooter situation.

It certainly would not be a good idea to attempt to take an active shooter into custody without the proper training.

Officers with the Picayune Police Department are aware of this fact, and as such have been undergoing training to effectively respond to an active shooter situation.

To do that the department held a two-day course at the Picayune Memorial High School.

The training involved some classwork, and a mock scenario where a “suspect” had just shot someone at the school.

By using their training, they were equipped

with the knowledge of how to effectively search a room without putting themselves in harm’s way.

And, if an officer forgot the proper technique and got “shot” during the training, the only damage was a bit of blue paint on their vest and clothing.

Fortunately

there have been no instances of this sort in Picayune. But according to statistics on gunviolencearchive.org, instances of gun violence are on the rise.

While not all instances of gun violence involve an active shooter, law enforcement officials need to be prepared for anything that may occur.

It doesn’t happen often, but at times officers in this area do have to deal with an armed suspect.

That means our officers need to have the proper training to ensure they make it home to their families at the end of their shift.

We commend the Picayune Police Department for taking precautionary measures to ensure all of their responding officers and investigators can not only keep the public safe, but themselves as well.