AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training Center (ALERRT) which trains first responders, including Austin Police, believes the quick response to the mass shooting in downtown Austin early Sunday saved lives.
“It could have been far, far worse,” said John Curnutt, assistant executive director of ALERRT. “The response by Austin Police Department and also the medical components of fire and EMS was so quick and decisive that it made a huge difference.”
ALERRT is based at Texas State University and provides research-based active shooter training across the country. Curnutt explained to KXAN investigators that several of its instructors are from Austin’s fire and police departments.
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“When you look at the investment that they’ve clearly made since they received that initial training and what they do on a regular basis, it shows in the quick and effective and assertive response to stop an active threat and to transition quickly into stopping the dying and trying to treat critically injured and get them, you know, evacuated to definitive care,” Curnutt said…