Douglasville, GA - It was a slow night in the local hospital. James had spent the last few hours in the hospital’s emergency room, exhausted. Hours were trickling by, and it was starting to get late. All of a sudden, there was what sounded like a loud “bang!” a few rooms over.
As others jolted up and started to make sense of what was happening in the midst of their late-night stupor, it only took seconds for the staff and patients to realize that their worst nightmare was happening: there was an active shooter in the ER.
Luckily, James acted fast. He darted to the fire alarm, immediately pulling it to cause a distraction, and to alert the patients and staff throughout the hospital. This fire alarm sent signals to our central monitoring station, where our operators were able to immediately connect with staff from the hospital and the Fire Department.
“Hello, this is Conner,” he started, but wasn’t able to finish. “There is an active shooter in the hospital,” he heard from the other line. Conner, while keeping the person on the other end calm and instructing them on what to do, was able to dispatch the proper responders on such a wildly unexpected call.
Fortunately, authorities were already present, saving the precious time to ensure the situation couldn't develop further. No injuries were sustained, with the exception of the shooter, who’s injuries were not life-threatening. Once the event was over and the shooter had been stopped, AvantGuard operator Danielle took over, to help Conner finish the calls and wrap up the event.
The shooter was stopped, thanks to an act of courage from a good samaritan and a little help from AvantGuard operators, Conner and Danielle.
*Names have been changed to protect privacy.
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