RETIRED DPS INSTRUCTOR PRESENTS HOW TO STAY SAFE DURING PUBLIC SHOOTINGS

  

Over 120 people came out to Cowboy Church in Brenham Saturday to get a glimpse inside the mind of a public shooter.

The “If You See Something, Say Something” training session Saturday was sponsored by the Washington County Sheriff’s Office and the Sheriff’s Association of Texas.

The training lecture was presented by retired DPS inspector Marx Howell, a 32-year veteran of DPS. He served in the United States Marine Corps, and has over 50 years of police experience, beginning his career in 1962 in highway patrol.

Howell discussed the mass shooting events that occurred in Las Vegas, Christ Church in New Zealand, and the church shooting in Sutherland Springs, Texas. He said these kinds of events can happen to anyone, as “we live in a dangerous world”.

Howell also talked about the pathway to violence and the characteristics and personalities of potential shooters, saying “these people don’t just get up one morning and say ‘I’m going to be a public shooter’”. He covered behavioral patterns of these people, and explained the differences between affective and predatory aggression, or defensive versus attacking violence.

Howell went over the psychology of what happens to people when they’re caught in a very unfamiliar situation. He distinguished between safe, concerning, threatening and dangerous situations, and how to maintain situational awareness, understanding, judgement and influence.

Howell also talked about how many people experience what is called “normalcy bias”, where they dismiss possibly dangerous situations as routine. For example, if someone hears a fire alarm going off, many people immediately conclude it’s a false alarm.

Howell stressed the importance of having a survival plan, as well as escaping danger at hand, finding a safe place, and calling for help. He taught how to identify people carrying a concealed weapon, and how to determine safe exits.