Texas school shooting: Training is key, ex-FBI investigator says

After a school shooting at a Texas high school that left as many as nine people dead, former FBI investigator Bill Daly advocated increased training on dealing with active shooter situations at schools.

“Training is certainly key,” he told Neil Cavuto during a FOX Business interview on Friday. “Knowing whether to run, [hide] or fight at the very end of it. Those are the key elements to any of these programs. And it’s a very personal decision, what you do during one of these cases.”

Police officers responded to Santa Fe High School at about 8 a.m. CDT after reports that a shooter opened fire inside.

The suspected shooter was taken into police custody, and a second suspect has been detained, Fox News reported. Both suspects were students.

Daly stressed the importance of introducing a system to prevent future shootings, such as a pre-announcement ahead of fire drills – so students can’t be inadvertently herded outside – or identifying safe places to hide or run to. Fighting, he said, should remain a last-resort option.

He also said people need to be alert to strange signs exhibited by people who could become potential shooters and alert the authorities if necessary.

“This is a key thing,” he said. “It’s very important to understand if there is any information ahead of time that would’ve clued someone in.”