The IGA Coca-Cola Institute has launched an online course detailing how to respond to an active shooter situation in a grocery store setting. Available in English and Spanish, this 5-minute course is a quick how-to video, highlighting the "Run, Hide, and Fight" responses.
In the year since the mass shooting in Buffalo, New York at a Tops grocery store, there have been 159 gun violence incidents and 42 deaths at the nation’s largest grocery retailers, according to new data released by Guns Down America. There have been over 600 gun violence incidents since January 2020, according to the Gun Violence Archive, which works out to about four shootings a week at large supermarket chains.
With that frequency, the course is crucial for all grocery employees and vendors. The course objectives include highlighting best practices for surviving an active shooter event as recommended by local law enforcement.
- Identify the three key actions to take during an active shooter event: Run, Hide, Defend.
- Explain the appropriate actions to take during each phase of an active shooter event, including how to escape, how to hide, and how to defend yourself as a last resort.
- Develop an exit plan and be aware of your surroundings to increase your chances of survival during an active shooter event.
The IGA Coca-Cola Institute created the course with Rouses Markets, in partnership with the Thibodeaux, Louisiana Police Department.
"We created this course to inform and prepare our employees and the larger grocery community, however hoping this situational response is never actively needed," states Rouses University Dean Ashley Candebat.
All Independent Grocers Alliance (IGA) retailers have access to the course via their https://igainstitute.com/ login, and can access the course directly via this link.
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