Free Course Trains Teachers For Active Shooter Situations

Green Country teachers who own guns aren't wasting any time brushing up on their skills. Saturday they took part in a special free firearms class designed just for them.

The class was planned about a month ago but after Friday's school shooting in Texas, the instructor says there's certainly a heightened sense of urgency to what she's teaching.

"They can happen anywhere. And so we just need to do whatever we can to be prepared," said certified firearms instructor Kara Gage. Gage is working with them one-on-one to prepare for the possibility of an active shooter at the school. Even if they can't have their guns in the classroom with them she says it's important to be ready.

These teachers are already familiar with shooting. They're all gun owners. Tahlequah 7th Grade teacher Josh Davis is taking advantage of his time in this classroom at the 2A Shooting Center. 

"The firearms I think are the least important part of the day. The main thing is: What can we do to get ahead of the situation, to begin with?" said Davis.

The three teachers taking the class are learning about things they can do to possibly prevent a shooting at their school from happening and how to look for warning signs from their students. Librarian Marcia Fletcher says it’s about learning to notice the little things.

"A lot of it is kind of common sense. Be observant. Be able to notice those kids that are just having a bad day. It's not necessarily we're not looking for bad kids. But people have bad days."