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'Be Your Own Hero' active shooter training prepares people to handle the worst

Posted at 11:25 PM, Apr 29, 2018
and last updated 2018-04-29 23:25:46-04

A free training is arming people with priceless skills: how to prepare for an active assailant.

Security training firm Trident Shield held an active assailant training Sunday night in Timonium.

"We just felt like this was our chance to reach as many people and save as many lives as possible,"  Trident Shield founder Jason Perry said. 

Jason, a former Navy SEAL and Boston SWAT officer, founded the company 5 years ago, after the Sandy Hook shooting. His wife Lauren helps him run it. She had no safety training until she met him. 

"I lived in a bubble that my parents raised me in and I never thought about safety in the slightest," Lauren said. "As a result of that, I was always putting myself in situations where I could have been a victim on any given day and the scariest part is that I never realized it."

She said she learned valuable skills that changed her life on a daily basis. The training specializes in reaching people who don't have a tactical background. To teach even more people, they have teamed up with acac Fitness to hold these free classes. 

"You can be like me, never having thought about it at all, and the little things that we teach you about shifting your mindset and the way you approach your daily life just makes such a difference," Lauren said. 

Attendees learned how to use ordinary items like carabiners as makeshift weapons and the proper way to barricade a door.

"Barricading is an invaluable skill that’s not only there for you for an active shooter, but it’s there for a domestic or if someone is breaking into your home," Jason said. 

The Be Your Own Hero training also included situational awareness and how to safely disable a gun, among other things. Jason hopes that people come away feeling empowered.

"We also want to really demystify firearms and show you that you’re never out of the fight, the waffle house incident shows that unarmed people have risen up and won," Jason said. "Know that you always have a chance. Fighting is always better than laying down and dying."

Attendee Maria Rendine said she learned lots of skills that will make her feel safer at home and she wants her three daughters to take the training as well. 

"Right now, the world is so out of control and we just all need to get out arms around it and know what to do," Rendine said. "If your family is valuable to you, come take it, because as he [Jason] said, 40 seconds could be the different between being alive and being dead."

Lauren says the most positive feedback they get back is about how the class affected every day tasks. 

"Just when they walk out the door, how they are walking to their car differently. They’re looking up or they’re not carrying their phone in their hand, looking at it texting, just that awareness factor," Lauren said. 

The Virginia-based firm has another free training coming up in the area: next Sunday at the acac in Germantown. They also have online courses for workplaces of all sizes and teach the training at high schools and churches.