Pelham police host active shooter training

PELHAM, GA (WALB) - Thursday night church leaders in Pelham learned what to do if their congregation is attacked by an active shooter.

The Pelham Police Department felt compelled to be proactive after the tragic church shooting in Texas.

"The world's changed and there has been too many of these incidents. Well, after the tragic shooting in Texas we decided we needed to take some action to make people aware," said Pelham's Chief of Police Nealie McCormick.

The session went over security strategies for local churches and for churchgoers to know what to do in case their church is faced with an active shooter.

"They'll learn how to set up security teams and to do a survey of the church to see what sort of security procedures they need to take," said McCormick.

Brenda Hughes with Cross Point Church said she was eager to come to the training for her own safety.

"You just don't know, it could happen anywhere and you want to be prepared. You have children in the church and you want to make sure everybody's safe," said Hughes.

Hughes explained that when she heard about the Texas shooting being in a small town, like Pelham, she knew she had to prepare for the worst.

"You don't think it could happen but it does and we should all be prepared for it," said Hughes.

Hughes said this training has given her a better peace of mind about being prepared.

"We're still human, we're still on guard and we still need to protect ourselves," said Hughes.

McCormick suggests that every church have a security plan.

The Pelham Police Department is holding a firearms training session this Saturday at the firing range. If you are interested in attending, you can contact the Pelham Police Department at (229) 294-6000.

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