Active-shooter training course moved to new location

ALBANY — The venue for the active shooter training for churches in the Albany area scheduled for Nov. 28 has changed, according to officials with the Albany Police Department.

Originally, the event, organized by Albany-Dougherty Drug Unit Commander Maj. Prurince Dice, was slated to take place at the Albany Civic Center. It has been moved to New Birth Fellowship Church, located at 2106 Radium Springs Road.

The event was the first of two active-shooter training courses planned in the aftermath of the Nov. 5 deadly shooting attack at First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs, Texas, where 26 people were killed and another 40 wounded.

Dice scheduled the training sessions to help prepare church and school officials in Albany and the surrounding community for such an emergency, should it happen.

“Actually, it (the idea of the training sessions) was after seeing all these shootings, especially this shooting that took place in Texas,” Dice told The Albany Herald on Nov. 6. “It’s something that I came up with today.”

Dice said he decided it was “just time” to “train church officials, school officials, day care officials and others on how to respond to these types of situations.”

“Unfortunately with the violence,” he said, “we know that it’s needed.”

The first event will be conducted at 6 p.m. Nov. 28 at New Birth Fellowship Church, followed by a second session at 6 p.m. Nov. 29 at Union Holiness Church, located at 901 Aaron Snipes Sr. Drive in Americus.

“I mentioned it to a couple of people, (and) they’re excited that we’re taking the initiative and doing this,” Dice said. “It’s not one of those things that we’ve discussed doing for a few months or years. It’s time. It’s to the point we need to say what we can do to help.”

Officials with any church, school, day care or other organization who want information on the active-shooter training sessions can contact ADDU at (229) 430-5150.