CINCINNATI — The U.S. endured another weekend of multiple mass shootings. There have been 247 mass shootings across the country as of June 5, according to the National Gun Archive.
Now, communities and school districts are taking matters into their own hands.
Wesley Chapel Mission Center is a nonprofit that held one of the first active shooter seminars in Cincinnati following the latest rash of mass shootings.
“I go in my mindset of how can I get out, how can I get myself, my students and my team safely out without alerting the shooter,” Jarice Ewell said. “Or, how can I hide these kids.”
Ewell sat in a room full of adults and children who watched a mass shooting simulation and listened to instructions from Kevin Corey, former police chief of a Cincinnati neighborhood and former president of school resources officers in Indiana.
“You got to do what you have to do to survive,” Corey said.
Corey is now the executive director of Wesley Chapel Mission Center.
“What I wanted to do was to give what I have to others, you know," Corey said. "I’ve been blessed to go through a lot of training."
The nonprofit is located in a part of the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood that sees some of the most gun violence in Cincinnati each year, so Corey provides training to his staff yearly. After seeing the mass shootings unfold across the country, though, Corey invited other organizations this time.
“We’re considered a beacon of light here in the Over-the-Rhine area, and the only way to be that light is to educate people on things that can help them be safe,” Corey said.
Even those who have researched the run, hide, fight technique took notes.
“I think people should do a refresher at least once a year or six months at least," said Ewell. "It keeps people aware, and things change, buildings change, policies change."
