Xenia, OH
City administrative offices closed for an entire day in October so all employees could attend Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate (ALICE) training — a solution that increases employees’ odds of survival during a violent intruder event in the workplace. “We live in a different day and age, a different world today,” City Manager Brent Merriman said. “It’s always best to secure yourself, get away from the situation,” Merriman said. “If that’s not an option, there are things you can do to fight back. In instances where people have confronted shooters, the outcome is limiting the amount of casualties.” Merriman cited some of the recent instances of active shooter situations, including one at Virginia Tech in 2007 where Seung-Hui Cho, the alleged assailant, was not an intimidating presence, measuring between 5-foot-5 and 6-feet according to various sources. “In the majority of instances, there was no action taken against the shooter,” Merriman said. “The feeling is the shooter, with some effort, could have easily been contained. Clearly we don’t want to put people in harms way more than we have to. (But) when you cower and cover, you are a sitting duck.” Read more
