Mississippi law enforcement agencies revamp active shooter training

Mississippi law enforcement agencies are changing how they respond to active shooters as officials apply lessons learned from past attacks.

Morgan Gill with the Roy Howard Community Journalism Center explains how that training has evolved across the state.

For law enforcement, responding to an active shooter is no longer focused only on stopping the attacker.

Officers are also being trained to get wounded victims to medical care faster. “We make changes on this all the time based on what we see the changes in the threat environment.”

Jim Brinson with the Mississippi Office of Homeland Security says the state began active-shooter training in 2007. It is now in its ninth version.

One of the biggest changes is what officers are expected to do when they arrive. “Those days are over. Now, first officer on scene is going to gunfire to engage that threat, and the additional law enforcement officers are helping him.”

Brinson describes the modern response in two parts: Stop the killing. Then stop the dying.

Once an area is cleared of the threat, officers can begin reaching and moving wounded victims, even before the entire building is secured.

In George County, Sheriff Mitchell Mixon says that response also depends on agencies knowing how to work together. “Each agency has to understand what their role is. And each person has to understand what their role is.”

George County trains law enforcement, firefighters and other first responders to work together.

Mixon says those skills also have to be practiced regularly. “If you don’t continue to train, then you lose some of your sharpness on that.”

Brinson says Mississippi officials continue studying active-shooter incidents with ALERRT and the FBI.

Those lessons are used to update training as threats and response tactics change.

And with schools preparing for the 2026-27 school year, Brinson says his office is conducting multiple classes each day.