Attorney General Eric Holder is urging Congress to authorize $15 million for training state and local law enforcement officers to confront so-called active shooters, reports USA Today. He said in a video message on the Justice Department’s website, “This critical funding would help the Justice Department ensure that America’s police officers have the tools and guidance they need to effectively respond to active shooter incidents whenever and wherever they arise.”
Six people have died and 16 others were this month in two shootings at Fort Hood, Texas and at a Jewish Community Center and retirement home near Kansas City. Between 2000 and 2008, there have been an average of five active shooter incidents each year in the U.S. Since 2009, the annual average has roughly tripled, Holder said. He said the FBI’s Behavioral Threat Assessment Center has seen a nearly 200 percent increase in requests for assistance in the past year, in part to help detect and disrupt potential active shooter situations. In the last decade, federal agencies have helped provide active shooter training to 60,000 law enforcement officials, from front-line officers to commanders and agency directors.