Target is expanding active-shooter training for hundreds of thousands of employees across the US
- Target is expanding its active-shooter training to include hundreds of thousands of employees across the country, the company confirmed.
- The training was initially conducted among select leaders and security workers at Target stores but was expanded to include all stores, distribution centers, and headquarters employees starting in August.
- "At Target, the safety of our guests and team members is our top priority and we take a comprehensive approach to safety that includes team member training, partnerships with law enforcement and the use of technology," Target spokesperson Jenna Reck said.
- Business Insider viewed a document with protocols for handling an active-shooter situation that was handed out to employees at at least one store in California in early August, just days after a deadly shooting claimed 22 lives in a Walmart in El Paso, Texas. A spokesperson confirmed that other training materials were sent to all employees in stores, distribution centers, and headquarters locations.
- "It's sad that our world has come to this," said a current employee in a New York Target store who recently underwent the training.
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Target recently expanded active-shooter training to hundreds of thousands of workers in its stores, distribution centers, and headquarters, the company confirmed.
The training was previously given to select leaders and security workers at stores and distribution centers but was expanded to include more employees in stores across the country and at its headquarters.
The training officially rolled out between August and October, a spokesperson for the company said.
A current employee in a California Target store sent Business Insider a document that was handed out to employees in his store in early August, outlining procedures for handling an active shooter situation in the store. The procedures in the document were based on the protocols advised by the US Department of Homeland Security.
The employee who shared the document with Business Insider said that he received it in August, just days after a mass shooting in an El Paso, Texas,Walmart left 22 dead and over two dozen others injured.
"There have been about 15 active shooter situations in the US over the last week," the document reads. "The more prepared we are for this kind of event, the better decisions your team is likely to make if ever confronted with it."
A spokesperson confirmed that other training materials were sent to all employees in stores, distribution centers, and headquarters locations.
Eight current Target employees in Maryland, New York, Oregon, Minnesota, and California said their stores underwent active-shooter trainings in the last few months.
"At Target, the safety of our guests and team members is our top priority and we take a comprehensive approach to safety that includes team member training, partnerships with law enforcement and the use of technology," Target spokesperson Jenna Reck told Business Insider in a statement. "We also consistently review our programs and security measures to help prepare for a variety of potential security situations. We enhanced our emergency preparedness and response training, as we do every year, and expanded active-shooter training this fall to include all of our stores, distribution centers and headquarters team members."
Lisa LaBruno, the executive vice president for retail operations and innovation for the Retail Industry Leaders Association, said that Target is not alone in implementing these training programs.
"Retailers across the country developed active shooter training programs long before the El Paso tragedy," LaBruno said. "Retailers regularly reexamine and enhance their programs based off learnings from events, improvements in technology and best practice recommendations."
Walmart offers active-shooter training during orientation and on a quarterly basis thereafter for more than one million employees, Walmart spokesman Randy Hargrove said in an interview in August, following the shooting in El Paso.
A current employee in a Hudson Valley, New York, Target said he received active-shooter training last week and doesn't recall previously doing similar training in his six years with the company. He said that all employees in his store underwent the training.
"It's sad that our world has come to this," he said.
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