School and work place safety

A man from the Mississippi Gulf Coast is helping make sure schools and businesses are prepared in case of an active shooter situation.

Reports of school and mass shootings hit close to home for Gulfport native and Army veteran Brad Carter whose skills working security and as a medic have saved lives here at home and overseas. It’s also prompted him to launch a security consulting business, Castaway Consulting, to help local schools and businesses to have a plan in place and to prepare for deadly situations that could unfold. His advice in a situation like that? “God forbid if it ever does arise at the school like that, one of the biggest things I think they should do is lock themselves in the classroom, to barricade the doors, to make it that much more difficult to get through those doors.”

Knowledge is power, especially when it comes to keeping our local schools, as reflected in at least two reports and investigations by authorities after students reported threats and weapons at various South Mississippi schools over the past two months, including one at Biloxi Junior High in March where parents were notified that an eighth grader had brought an airsoft gun to school after a student notified school leaders about the situation. “If you see something, say something,” said Carter.

Carter says the same basic guidelines will work if a similar situation occurs in the work place. If you can’t find a quick exit, find a place to hide or get behind a closed and locked door. “Lock yourself away to where you can’t be easily found. Immediately after you do something like that, always call 911. Only as a last resort, the last resort would be to engage the hostile person in there. Anything around you, if needed, could become a weapon,” said Carter.