12 children a day

Heather Ainsley
ECB Publishing, Inc.

In the United States, 12 children die each day from gun violence. It is estimated that another 32 children are shot and injured, but survive. So far this year, at least 653 children and teens across the U.S. have had their lives taken from them at the hands of an active shooter. That's 653 children who will never grow up. 653 children who have been buried by their grieving families after their lives were cut short at the hands of a gunman.
According to The Gun Violence Archive, an independent data collection organization, there have been over 200 mass shootings in 2022 alone. The organization defines a mass shooting as an incident in which four or more people were shot or killed, not including the shooter.
We all want to protect our children from gun violence in their day to day lives, and many parents are increasingly vigilant when it comes to the safety of their kids when they are at home or with friends, but what about when a child leaves the safety of their home to receive an education?
Ideally, schools would be one of the safest places on Earth for our youth, a place that we can provide a safe and secure environment where they can focus on their education and ultimately, their future as citizens in their communities. It is the very place that one would expect a child to be protected, without the risk of being robbed of that very future. But alas, this year has so far brought with it at least 95 incidences of gunfire on school grounds, resulting in 40 deaths and 76 injuries nationally. While experts and political officials debate back and forth about the best way to fix these alarming statistics, in the meantime the best defense in an active shooter situation is swift and competent response from law enforcement. Here in Jefferson County, our law enforcement is taking the safety of the county's youth into the highest consideration.
This July, the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office, along with deputies from Florida Highway Patrol (FHP), utilized the vacant hallways of Jefferson County schools as a training ground for their Active Shooter response program. While the school semester was still out for summer vacation, the empty buildings allowed an important training opportunity for local officers to familiarize themselves with not only the procedures necessary to save lives in the case of an active shooter situation, but also the ability to gain familiarity with the layout of the school itself.
During the training, instructors led officers and deputies through rigorous drills, focusing on effective maneuvers while clearing classrooms, executing the safe navigation of hallways, doorways and angles within the school's structure that provide blind spots, and maintaining complete control over their own reflexes and stress responses while in a high-stress environment. Officers were expected to clear significant distance on campus swiftly and secure sections of buildings that were suspected of housing an “active shooter.” After sections of the buildings were cleared for safety, officers were expected to react instantly to shots fired, and establish a swift location and apprehension of the “shooter,” who was an officer assisting with the training course.
“Let's be brilliant at the basics,” said instructor Morgan Wysocki with the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office as he addressed the class. “In a real life scenario, there's going to be a lot of distraction, a lot of extra stress. Your adrenaline will be pumping, and you need to work on monitoring your reflexes. There is a lot to remember in an active shooter situation, and you'll need to be making split-second decisions that affect people's lives. That's why it's so important to have the basics down, so you can quickly move through muscle memory and do what you need to do.”
Together, the instructors also illustrated the importance of familiarity with language associated with the procedures, enabling officers to work seamlessly with other responding officers that they may not be familiar with. The course led the team through practice drills simulating scenarios of situations requiring teamwork among officers as well as solo drills, where a single officer must clear a hallway or building completely on their own.
Active shooter situations are terrifying, and the presence of a badge doesn't change this fact. Officers and deputies that respond to gun violence in schools face gut-wrenching terror and heart-breaking decisions. They must control their own body's natural stress response, and be ready and willing to put their own lives on the line. They must be familiar with school layouts and be able to recognize school alert codes and their meanings to be able to react in the defense of our society's most vulnerable. With so much at stake, Jefferson County law enforcement is doing everything they can to impact gun violence statistics, in the hopes of saving at least 12 children a day.