VALDOSTA, GA (WALB) - Law-enforcement officials in Valdosta are re-writing their active shooter plan in the wake of the mass school shooting that took place in South Florida.
Valdosta Police Chief Brian Childress about how he plans to keep the schools safe and his views on the latest tragedy
"We are re-writing our active shooter policy and part of the reason we re-wrote that policy was because of what happened in Florida," said Childress.
In just a few days, it will be a month since the day Nickolas Cruz, 19, was accused of firing a weapon and killing 17 people at Parkland High School in Florida.
Since then, Childress has been working tirelessly in an attempt to keep students safe, and to be prepared if a similar scenario were to happen within city limits.
"Anytime these things happen, you want to re-evaluate what you're doing," said Childress.
Childress has required active shooter training and studying of all school floor plans for his officers, but he says it is going to take everyone to prevent situations like these.'
"In an active shooter training, if any chief or sheriff is honest with you, what they will tell you that in an active shooter response the objective of law enforcement is to minimize death--not stop it--minimize it and that's not politically correct," explained Childress.
Childress stated parents, police and the school system need to be on the lookout for indicators that show signs of violence.
"You are not born being a murderer--you are taught that," exclaimed Childress.
Childress told us that he thinks arming teachers is a "terrible Idea."
He added that officers are trained every year with guns and still fail to qualify.
"What we are talking about here when we talk about arming teachers is we got lawmakers who are not looking at the facts," said Childress.
All in all, Childress said he wants to spread awareness across the board.
"I'm not here to try and scare parents and students and teachers that's not what I'm here for, but I am here to be honest," concluded Childress.
Chief Childress is set to meet with the Valdosta City School District superintendent next week to further discuss safety measures for all schools within the district.
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