BAY VILLAGE, Ohio — The bright and sunny weather in Bay Village on Friday was a stark contrast from the talks inside the police department on Wolf Road.
A group of police officers, teachers and social workers from across Northeast Ohio were there to learn about school shootings and safety.
Phil Chalmers was the educator. He's a homicide expert who specializes in mass murderers, school shootings and teen killers. In fact, over the course of his 25-year career, he's interviewed hundreds of them.
Today, Chalmers spoke to the group, with emphasis on this message: Shootings like Uvalde, Virginia Tech and Sandy Hook can happen anywhere.
"First step is denial. We have to get our schools out of denial. This could happen in Bay Village ... it could happen anywhere. We have to admit that it could happen here. Secondly, we have to deter people from coming to this school. I like to have a marked police car out front with a police officer in the building. There was not (a marked police car) in Uvalde. We have to detect these kids before they strike," Chalmers said.
Chalmers says recognizing the warning signs like peer pressure, mental illnesses or hate groups, is critical; especially, zeroing in on the top three red flags.
"(School shooters) being bullied at school. It's a number one cause of school shootings. They come from a dysfunctional, broken home of some kind ... there's abuse at home," Chalmers explained.
When it comes to school safety, Chalmers says it starts with the building.
"We have to slow the killers down. How do we do that? Locked classroom doors, but I'm now recommending bulletproof doors. So what we're gonna do is I'm gonna start recommending the school slowly changes all their doors of their classrooms to bulletproof doors. So, now you have a safe room. The kids are safe inside a bulletproof room," Chalmers said.
While loved ones await those final reports from Uvalde, and whether or not local law enforcement waited too long to enter the classroom, Chalmers says quick action from police can save lives.
"We have to delay the killer until the police show up ... for law enforcement to go in quickly and defeat the bad guy. And that means, going in as fast as possible, actually within a minute or two. So if we don't go in within a minute or two, you're gonna have some dead victims. Most school shooters only need five minutes. So if there's no police officer in the building, and you call 9-1-1, they'll be there in 10. It's too late," Chalmers said.
Here in Bay Village, Police Chief Robert Gillespie says the community can do its part by something as simple as, "See something, say something."
"Understanding that, you know, there are people like this in our community and not letting them go unnoticed ... bring it to our attention and get help from somebody," Chief Gillespie said.
Chalmers says now is the time to take action.
"Nobody deserves to die like they did last week in Texas. Nobody deserves to die like they did the week before at the Buffalo grocery store. Nobody deserves to die like that. And, we have to stop these things from happening."
To learn more about Phil Chalmers, or his books and speaking tours, click HERE.
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