Hey,

Just wanted to give you my opinion of this class. I attended it tonight at the Falls Township building. First I want to give credit to Sheriff Warrell for providing this class. He doesn't have to and I think his heart is in the right place for wanting to help people be prepared. If you were not sure about going because its not a gun class, I would still recommend you go. I have taken various firearms classes including active shooter response and I still think the class is worth going to. Its basic stuff but at the very least, it will refresh your memory on some things that you might have learned at a gun class. The first half of the class you will learn history of active shootings and some lesson learned from them. Perps are generally not mentioned as they should remain anonymous in the depths of hell (my opinion not his). The second half of the class is basic info on unarmed response; e.g. run hide fight. This is a good intro class for people that are not comfortable with firearms but want to learn something to start.


I went into this class expecting it to be full on anti gun propaganda. It wasn't. He said a few things that corrected the typical media lies about ARs and magazine capacity though he did make a comment that raised my eyebrows because it implied some level of support for gun control. I recognize he is an elected official so he has to play the middle game. Though I still have not forgiven him for supporting Scott Wallace. I also recognize that Brian Fitzpatrick is a the biggest RINO in the country so that election was a wash. Anyway, I digress.

Now there was one thing discussed as a result of a question, that disturbed me. The question was about how LTCF holders that have engaged an active shooter (not trying to be a hero but reacting because they are immediately in the line of fire) should act after shooting the attacker and how not to get shot by responding police while holding a gun. If someone is shooting at me or my family, I'm defending myself immediately. I have taken various classes and they have generally assumed that after a LTCF holder has engaged the attacker, there will be time to decide if its safe to reholster and call the police. In an active shooter situation, responding police might arrive before you reholster or call 911.

So there were a few plainclother officers from other departments in the room and they unapologetically said they would shoot the LTCF holder immediately because they were holding a gun when the officer responded to calls of an active shooter. I understand that this is a risk that everyone takes when carrying including plainclothes officers. What disturbed me was the officers were unapolgetics about it like we shouldn't be holding a gun to begin with. This attitude was less from the Sheriff though he said that we should run if there is an active shooter. I'm a LTCF holder and if I mistakenly shoot and kill another LTCF holder (not the active shooter) during an active shooting because they are holding a gun, I would probably charged with manslaughter and I would also feel terrible about it. I wouldn't be like Oh Well you were holding a gun. I took a class where the instructor said he encountered this attitude before where police automatically assume anyone holding a gun is hostile and will shoot them immediately. In my opinion, this is the wrong attitude and way to train officers. If this is the feeling of the local PD I hope they will change this thinking. Non uniformed citizens have a constitutional right to defend themselves from attackers and police should adjust their attitudes and training to account for this fact. I don't ever want to have to shoot anyone. However, when facing lethal force, I have the right to defend myself especially from someone shooting at me. If I shoot someone by mistake even if they are holding a gun (and not the active shooter), I'll be held accountable by the law. Why are police officers different?

Anyway, if you legally carry, definitely take as much training as time and money allows, practice regularly, and learn how to stop bleeeding. God forbid you are in a situation when you have to use your gun, consider reholstering as safely and as fast as possible so you don't get shot by responding police. Listen to all instructions from them when they get there. Rant over.