Too many lessons written in blood

On Jan. 18, the federal Department of Justice released a 575-page Critical Incident Review of the May 24, 2022, Robb Elementary School Shooting in Uvalde, Texas, that resulted in the senseless deaths of 19 precious children and two beloved teachers.

The DOJ report, the most detailed examination of this attack, identifies failures, lessons learned, and corrective measures. What should not be lost on anyone is the opportunity to learn from mistakes made prior to this attack, the agonizing 77 minutes that passed before the attacker was finally stopped, the chaotic and unorganized evacuation of the injured, and other missed opportunities to save innocent lives.

Rather than ruminating on the cascading systems failures that occurred on that terrible day, we should commit to doing everything within our abilities to ensure these failures and mistakes are not repeated.

Attacks on society’s most vulnerable, our children, are devastating to families, communities, states, and nations. Active attacks that occur in educational settings (K-12 and higher education) account for 15 percent of these events nationwide. Because 85 percent of these attacks occur where we work, shop, play, and worship, preparedness becomes imperative for each of us, regardless of our stations.

In the first responder and military space, there are often conversations about working “Left of Bang”—proactively taking measures that mitigate or lessen the impacts of an attack (bang), or best case, prevent it altogether.

The most important “left of bang” activity for our first responders is training. Over the last 38 years, I have seen much improvement in the way we train first responders. For the last six years, I have worked with Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training (ALERRT) at Texas State University. ALERRT is a federally funded training program that provides free active attack training to first responders nationwide.

ALERRT’s mission is to provide the best active shooter training in the nation through a curriculum that is research-based and rooted in scenario-based training. ALERRT has long been recognized as the national standard in active attack response training.

At the risk of over-simplifying an extensive curriculum that is delivered through dozens of ALERRT’s course offerings, the program trains responders to accomplish two operational objectives quickly: —Stop the Killing. —Rapidly Stabilize and Evacuate the Injured to Definitive Medical Care.

Proficiency in each of these objectives saves lives and is accomplished through continuous, rigorous training.

Arkansans are fortunate to have many law enforcement leaders who recognize the importance of this training. Gov. Sarah Sanders, Department of Public Safety Secretary Colonel Mike Hagar, and Commission on Law Enforcement Standards and Training Director Chris Chapmond have demonstrated a commitment to ensure our state’s law enforcement officers are receiving the most current and effective active attack training, not only in our law enforcement academies but also in the development of initiatives to deliver this training more broadly to incumbent law enforcement officers through a partnership with ALERRT.

While ALERRT has a significant focus on the law enforcement community, it also provides training to fire services, emergency medical services, emergency dispatchers, emergency managers, and other first responders who play critical roles in saving lives in these events. Arkansas is fortunate to have a growing number of leaders within these services who recognize the necessity to train alongside law enforcement, enhancing life-saving abilities through an integrated response.

Through the Civilian Response to Active Shooter Events (CRASE) training, ALERRT trains first responders to deliver civilian response training in their communities. This program encourages civilians to take ownership of their personal safety and introduces them to the principles of Avoid/Deny/Defend.

With an average law enforcement response time of three minutes, actions taken by would-be victims in the first seconds of an event unfolds can mean the difference between life and death. ALERRT has trained hundreds of CRASE instructors in Arkansas who are happy to provide this training to your organization free of charge. The best place to start to schedule this training is to contact your local police department or sheriff’s office or visit https://www.avoiddenydefend.org/ for more information.

The I Love U Guys Foundation (https://iloveuguys.org/) and the Arkansas Center for School Safety (https://www.cji.edu/programs/arkansas-center-for-school-safety) are excellent resources for educational institutions, parents, and others who want to learn more about proactive measures to make our communities safer.

We should never forget the anguish and anger we felt on that terrible day, but let us now honor the memory of these innocent victims to ensure the mistakes of the past are not repeated. They deserve that. Their families deserve that. Our children deserve that.

Jeff Crow is the Midwest U.S. Regional Manager for ALERRT. He has 38 years of law enforcement experience with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, Arkansas State Police, and the Ouachita Baptist University Police Department. He can be contacted at