Caddo Parish sheriff’s field operations deputy Tony LeBlanc has delivered hundreds of active shooter training programs to school groups and businesses. He recently finished three programs at LSU Shreveport. He begins by showing a five-minute video produced by University of Arkansas titled “Avoid. Deny. Defend.”
The FBI cites 130 active shooter incidents between 2000 and 2013. LeBlanc says his presentation is based on materials from the Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness and FEMA.
“They have a lot of different acronyms and clichés and stuff like that out there. Basically, it comes down to that you have the option to run, to hide, or if it comes down to it, to fight,” LeBlanc said.
LeBlanc quizzed the small crowd of LSUS faculty and students on the number of exits in the University Center Theater. He found one correct guess: six. LeBlanc says schools are required to do regular fire and tornado drills, but lockdown drills are less common. He says his training helps give people information to react more quickly and instinctively.
He encouraged people to be aware of all the exits in venues they frequent.
“Whether you go to Walmart, whether you’re in church, whether you go to the movie theater, it’s just putting you into the mindset of what you should be thinking about other than going somewhere, sitting down, and then start tapping away on your telephone,” LeBlanc said.
The City of Bossier will hold the second of two discussions Thursday on safety tips for disasters, acts of terrorism and cyberattacks. The program begins at 5:30 at the Bossier Civic Center. The series is titled “Remaining Vigilant.”
