POINT TOWNSHIP – Last week’s mass shooting at a country music concert in Las Vegas, has the Valley thinking safety first for upcoming concerts. Point Township Police Chief Josh VanKirk joined On The Mark earlier this year to provide some tips.
When it comes to personal safety in a crowd, one recommendation, don’t looking down at your phone constantly, “Having your head up, and scanning, and paying attention to your surroundings before you physically commit your body into a space is a great protection tool that everybody should take up with regular practice.”
Chief VanKirk also says it’s good to know the basics, such as exit locations and knowing a point of cover. He says it’s good to look for anything suspicious, such as a package set down, or anyone not responding to authorities.
Chief VanKirk says while event organizers should have a plan of safety, it’s still tough to find an immediate end of these acts of violence, “The best thing event organizers are doing is taking the known threats we have and the factors we’ve known from past events, and you put into play the best practices. But it’s also important to acknowledge that I don’t think there’s any full proof method that’s going to stop these things from happening all together.”
The Pennsylvania State Police has also recently discussed with the public how they train should an event like Las Vegas happen. For further basic safety information, visit ready.gov. (Matt Catrillo)
