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Every parent’s worst nightmare is receiving a call that something terrible happened to their child. With over 250 shootings in America this year and 22 of them taking place in schools, its clear that times have changed and so must the way we deal with and prepare for the unimaginable. Last Friday, Sep. 20, the Holbrook Unified School District welcomed president and owner of Crisis Reality Training Inc., Jesus Villahermosa Jr. to speak at the George Gardner Performing Arts Center. Villahermosa has redefined how parents, students and faculty should fight back in these life-threatening situations. As terrifying as the thought may be, Villahermosa’s true mission was to prepare the real first responders, the students.
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Having spent 32 years in law enforcement, Villahermosa has experienced and responded to countless active shootings throughout his career and has become more aware of the fact that proper training for these situations is a much-needed service.
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Passionate about making a change in the preparedness of the students and faculty, he has dedicated more than 30 years to diverting crisis through education using his experiences.
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As part of his approach, Villahermosa opened the assembly with a vivid explanation of what qualifies him for the job. “I’ve seen every form of death, hostage rescue under fire. I’ve been shot at and shot back.”
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During an interview with Villahermosa, he stated that a major factor in students and faculty making the wrong decisions that lead to fatal consequences is that they are not realistically prepared. Part of Villahermosa’ training was to teach the students how to utilize the objects around them as tools for their survival. His own experiences have allowed him to narrow down some of the things that could be putting them in harms way rather than saving their lives.
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Villahermosa told the students, “For today, we give you permission to break every rule you’ve been told you have to follow.” With some less conventional but effective suggestions like throwing the heaviest object, typically a teacher’s desk through a glass window to create an escape route. Or arming themselves with objects as small as pencils.
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Having experienced first-hand what it’s like having a child who was involved in an active school shooting, Villahermosa knows just how important it is to prepare the students as it can quickly become anyone’s reality. Villahermosa shared the gut-wrenching fear he felt when he heard that his son’s school had an active shooter and then his relief at knowing his son and others made it out okay by doing what Villahermosa had taught him to do.
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Needless to say, his approach was unlike any other. Teaching the students there is a time to fight and a time to run despite the boundaries that have been set for them. If a student should learn of a student bringing a weapon on campus or hear talk of a student wanting to harm someone, they were encouraged to let go of that “I’m not a snitch” mentality and report the activity.
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Villahermosa was clear that his intention was not to instill fear but awareness. His approach was light but had the students listening intently at every stage of the training.
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Perhaps the most intriguing thing about Villahermosa’s training was the accountability he placed on the students.
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Villahermosa was adamant about the students understanding their role in making the difference between tragedy striking and being diverted if they pay attention and accept responsibility for themselves and each other.
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“You are now part of the plan. It’s not just up to us to protect you. It’s up to us and you to protect you, and you to protect me.” Breaking from the illusion that it can’t happen to them, he told of the recent shooting in Odessa, Texas, and how two students and their parents from Blue Ridge, Arizona, survived it using the tactics he’d shown them just months before.
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Villahermosa’s less conventional approach offered a realistic view through stories of the success he has seen through his trainings rather than just anecdotal stats. Villahermosa explained that 75 percent of the fatality rates in these crises are the students. Holbrook is now part of 10 percent that now have more of a fighting chance.
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