The devastation of the Texas School Shooting - What can we do to help prevent loss of lives?

The news of another tragic school shooting has shook not only the nation, but the world. The horrific event is the second most lethal shooting in a school since the 2012 Connecticut tragedy and it ended with 21 fatalities, 19 of those who were children. The Uvalde community and family of the victims are mourning and many believe more should have been done to save lives.

According to the Texas Tribune, it took around 1 hour and 15 minutes for officers to reenter the building after their first confrontation with the shooter which has understandably sparked widespread outrage and criticism. There was a student who repeatedly called 911 whilst trapped inside the school with the shooter, whilst police were waiting for backup and equipment. The state’s top law enforcement officer has responded stating they made ‘key mistakes when responding to the active shooter.’ 

In times like these you can never fully expect the unexpected, however you can most definitely prepare for these kinds of emergencies as much as possible. Schools regularly participate in active shooter drills, to which Robb Elementary had recently completed one. As in the U.S. we are notoriously prone to these horrific attacks, we know more desperately needs to be done to prevent loss of life. Whilst nobody knows how first responders will react to an active shooter scene, there are many ways to save a life at point-of-injury.

What can we do to prevent loss of life?

At TyTek Medical, we are here to provide medical support and education to those who need it. However, there are many of us that do not understand the importance of gaining basic first aid medical care. That’s where we come in - we cannot stress enough how detrimental it is to gain knowledge on how to effectively treat severe bleeding, which is one reason why we provide our education hub as well as life-saving products. It is known that many of us wouldn’t feel confident to perform basic first aid, consequently the Stop the Bleed campaign is aiming to empower you to save lives. A person who is bleeding can die from blood loss within five minutes, so it’s super important that bystanders to a medical emergency can effectively prevent this. If you’re interested in finding out more, check out their website to find courses near you.

Bleed Control equipment at point-of-injury

We truly believe that point-of-injury equipment should be available at every place which contains large gatherings of people, such as subways, concert arenas and schools. Whilst it is an extremely sad state of affairs that we have to prepare for such events, it’s crucial to have access to life-saving medical supplies in the event of an active shooter occurrence, giving everybody involved the best chance of survival. Our bleed control equipment can be one of those supply options, with bleed control wall stations and pouches available. 

“Our proven medical supplies have been created to be beginner-friendly, empowering everybody to act fast and be confident in preventing severe blood loss.” Chris Tyler, TyTek Group President