LINDALE, Texas — Calvary Commission, an international mission organization and Bible college based in Lindale, hosted Smith County Sheriff's Office Detective Tim McDonald Saturday afternoon to educate citizens on how to respond to an active shooter.
In addition to his police duties, McDonald travels around the state to give presentations on safety like how to deal with an active shooter. The end goal of the presentation is if they're ever in that situation, they will be able to conduct themselves in the best way possible.
His message was clear. The first thing someone does in a dangerous situation is run. Then, try to barricade and protect yourself. If both of those tactics fail, McDonald said it's time to step up.
"The last one, ultimately, it's a last resort. If you can't run and you can't barricade yourself and prevent someone from coming in, you may have to step up and defend yourself by fighting," McDonald said. "You may actually have to fight for your life."
Calvary Commission President and International Director Joe Fauss said because the country has seen repeated active shooters, including in churches, it's just best to be prepared.
Just this year alone, the U.S. has had to mourn after nearly 500 mass shootings, according to the Gun Violence Archive.
For McDonald, it's a reality he's aware of every day.
"It's no longer 'if' it's going to happen. We know that there are evil people that will come in and cause great harm and try to cause mass casualties," McDonald said. "We just have to know these are our steps. We need to run, we need to barricade if we can't run, and we need to defend ourselves if there's no other option."