ROANOKE, Va. – After a gunman opened fire inside a Kroger in Tennessee, a local security company is urging people to invest in their safety.
A trip to the grocery store turned deadly Thursday in Tennessee after a shooting left at least a dozen injured and one dead.
Chris Ragone, the owner of Executive Security Concepts, said though the tragedy happened miles away, it hits close to home.
“It’s sad to this day and age,” he said. “But it’s gotten to that point where we need…if not an armed security officer, there should be extensive active shooter training.”
For more than a year, 12 armed members of his team were hired to secure four Kroger stores in Richmond.
Though the nation continues to see mass shootings, he said many people don’t believe their life will be on the line.
“I still think people in small cities still are in the mindset ‘Oh, it’s not going to happen here,’” he said.
Ragone said nowadays companies need to have frequent active shooter drills to ingrain the practice, just like fire drills in school.
“It has to become second nature,” he said. “So, when the fire alarm goes off the teachers have to know what to do. The students have to know what to do. You can’t just talk about it. You have to do it...There are active shooter events now. Are they more prolific than fires? I don’t think so. But it can happen.”
General active shooter protocols push for the “run, hide and fight” approach.
But Ragone said that is oversimplified.
Rather, take deep breaths, assess the situation, call 911 and then move away from the gunfire.
“What we say is: ‘Hope for the best but plan for the worst,’” he said.