As people across the nation react to the shooting in Florida, there is a debate once again brewing over our nation’s gun violence issues.
Many are calling on Congress to make changes and address gun control, mental health, and who has access to guns.
One gun instructor, Johnny Castro, believes that teachers can take action and get state training to deal with active shooters and face the problem head-on.
The certification is a 15- to 20-hour course on top of a license to carry. It’s open to anyone but Castro believes that school shootings can be impacted by more adults trained to carry weapons.
He says that teachers are in a unique position to respond to shooters and knowing schools aren’t soft targets could deter copycats in the future.
The course costs around $400 but Castro says that you can’t put a price on saving a life.
“The area that they have to shoot is very limited,” he said. “The active shooter is a very violent individual that comes in and will be taking lives. We have [active shooter response training] in place in Texas, so why are we sitting around not taking advantage of it? And unfortunately, right now, the first responders have become the school faculty and administrators, and even the students.”
Texas DPS has over 7,000 license to carry instructors across the state. Only 23 carry the certification to teach active shooter response.