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KCSO holds safety seminar to teach safety techniques in churches

The Knox County Sheriff's Office worked on safety tips and tricks for churches in East Tennessee following the last few church shootings in 2017.

Church congregations met in Temple Baptist Church in Powell with the Knox County Sheriff's Office to learn how to keep congregations safe on Saturday.

This seminar comes after the community expressed concern about safety in churches, particularly after the last two that have happened in 2017. KCSO said they have received multiple phone calls from people in the last few weeks about some sort of safety training.

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"Anything we can do to mitigate any fears they may have about starting a program for their security team, implementing their program," Lee Tramel, chief of administration at the Knox County Sheriff's Office, said. "Anytime we can help them that's good for our community, and that's good for us."

Members of the KCSO Training Unit covered several topics, including how to conduct a threat assessment and what to do if there is an active shooter.

"The most common theme, I think, about what we've done today, is people want to feel safe," Tramel said.

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Tramel said the event held Saturday would hopefully help the leaders and elders at churches to come up with a safety plan. He also suggests the where they are at as well as where they need to be in terms of safety.

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