SCSO Offers Training on Gun Laws, Shooting Incidents

TYLER — The Smith County Sheriff’s Office is preparing to update law officers and the public on new gun laws and situations involving firearms. On Friday and Saturday, November 13 and 14, the SCSO will present a free training event at the TJC West Campus relating to open carry as well as active shooter incidents. Sheriff Larry Smith says the training on Friday will be from 8 a.m.-12 noon and is reserved for commissioned law enforcement officers only. The training on Saturday will be open to the general public and will be from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Smith says the training will cover the new open carry laws that go into effect January 1 and will also include a class entitled “Citizens’ Response to an Active Shooter.” Smith says he considers it necessary to discuss those issues in order to have a smooth transition to open carry.

Smith says the open carry class will discuss the new law, what law enforcement and citizens can expect to see in their communities, their rights to carry, and the requirements for businesses to allow or restrict people from carrying firearms. The sheriff says the active shooter class will discuss what law enforcement is doing, what citizens can do to prepare themselves for an event, and how best to defend themselves and the people around them. According to Smith, the discussion will cover different situations such as those in schools, businesses, churches, and public venues.