FASTER Utah praises two heroes for their actions to save lives at their respective schools during recent school shootings. Blaine Gaskill of Maryland and Mark Dallas of Illinois both engaged attackers who opened fire in their schools within the past year.
Both heroes ran to the scene and bravely traded shots with aggressors. Officer Gaskill hit the
murderer in his hand and stopped additional killings. The attacker passed away from a self-
inflicted gunshot. Sadly his first victim also passed away from her injuries.
Officer Dallas had a running gun battle with an assailant who opened fire in the school he
protected. Only the perpetrator was wounded in the event as Dallas chased him from the school. I think we need more people like these heroes who are trained to carry guns in schools to protect themselves and students. They need to be able to stop violence quickly and secure the scene so that it is safe to render first aid to the wounded.”
In 2016 six-year-old Jacob Hall of South Carolina lost his life in an elementary school shooting.
Even though the murderer had been restrained, unfortunately, no one on site had the skills or
equipment to place a tourniquet on his leg to save his life before emergency responders could arrive. FASTER Utah also brings this critical element to the equation to prepare educators for potential school shootings.
FASTER Utah offers life-saving skills to Teachers, Administrators, and other school staff so
they can be prepared for aggressive threats. FASTER Utah empowers teachers and other school staff with the tools and skills to quickly stop violence and render first aid, greatly reducing the chances of casualties. Advertising that trained individuals are on site to defend students is also part of our mission in an effort to discourage predators.
We invite all school staff with concealed firearms permits to apply for a training scholarship
at http://www.fasterutah.org . We have training scheduled during Spring Break on March 23, 25 and 26, 2019. School staff members interested in attending should take a concealed firearms class immediately if they have not done so already.” Some concealed carry classes are offered at no cost to educators. We believe that FASTER is the most responsible and cost-effective way to harden Utah schools. Many teachers and other school staff are already legally carrying firearms in schools. Giving our educators this advanced handgun and trauma first aid training will strengthen our schools from within. Similar to the Federal Flight Deck Officer and Air Marshal programs, potential predators will think twice as we advertise that trained school personnel are on site that have skills on par with law enforcement. FASTER Utah will make our schools less attractive targets to those tempted to murder school children to become infamous while committing suicide.” FASTER Utah is a public/private partnership non-profit corporation. We invite all like-minded people to go to https://www.FASTERUtah.org and do what you can to further the cause of school safety. You can advocate, volunteer, donate or all of those. Brant Taylor would like to talk with you about it. (801)981-1932.