Bridgewater, Va.- Throughout the entire school year, Bridgewater College will be holding active shooter training sessions. Bridgewater College Police Chief Milton Franklin will teach students how to respond to an active shooter or hostile intruder on campus.

Starting at the end of September, Bridgewater College will be holding monthly active shooter trainings for the new school year. During these trainings Chief Milton Franklin will be guiding students on what to do in the event of an active shooter or hostile intruder.

In reaching out to Chief Franklin he said, “Although the training was designed specifically for students and employees’ environments here on campus, members of the public may attend the trainings.”  

Training sessions will be available throughout Fall Semester on Sept. 25, Oct. 30, Nov. 13 and Dec. 2. The dates for Spring Semester are Jan. 22, Feb. 19, Mar. 25 and Apr. 8. Training sessions will be held two different times on every date a training day is scheduled, and will be held in the Boitnott room. Sessions will be 12 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. or 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. for every date. 

If someone is debating on going more than once during their time at Bridgewater College, Chief Franklin said, “It is always good to have continuous training. The athletic philosophy “your game play is like as you practiced” is undoubtedly accurate in real-world events. How one reacts to a crisis depends on how well prepared you are to make critical decisions in the face of danger.”

Students can expect that “the attendees will be challenged in understanding that they are unprepared to respond to a crisis. The attendees will be provided an opportunity to role-play a situation in which they will practice techniques that will increase their survivability in an active shooter or hostile intruder situation. The training will also include an open discussion of the chaotic and emotional effects of an event after viewing video footage from an active shooter event,” said Franklin. 

If students do not wish to participate in the training on campus, but still want training on the subject, there is also a training module on the Campus Police and Safety page titled “SURVIVING AN ACTIVE SHOOTER EVENT.” https://www.bridgewater.edu/life-at-bridgewater/services-for-students/police-safety/surviving-an-active-shooter-event/

When asked the importance of active shooter training Chief Franklin said, “Having a plan and knowledge of understanding on how to respond in the event of an active shooter or hostile intruder situation will increase one’s survivability. Reports from past events show victims who encountered an active shooter or hostile intruder often ‘froze in fear’ or had no knowledge of how to make themselves safe. The main training objective is not to invoke fear, but rather to focus on empowering individuals with the necessary tools to react without hesitation to preserve lives.””

 A study conducted in 2014 by the Federal Bureau of Investigation on active shooter incidents in the United States between 2000 and 2013 revealed that, “even when law enforcement was present or able to respond within minutes, civilians often had to make life and death decisions, and therefore, should be engaged in training and discussions on decisions they may face.” 

Chief Franklin encourages anyone who wants to learn how to increase their survivability in an active shooter or hostile intruder event to attend any of the learning sessions.