Residents speak on public safety - ABC 33/40 - Birmingham News, Weather, Sports
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A few moments ago, we heard Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper say we can't let an incident like this or a mass shooting like the one that happened at a Tuscaloosa bar Tuesday morning rob us of our freedom.
As true as that is these isolated incidents make you stop in your tracks.
The consensus is we don't have to make drastic changes to what we do. But we should be more aware.
"I went to college at the University of Alabama. I went to the copper top. I am also going to see the batman film tonight at the imax and you can't help but to think about safety at the same time," said Jason Courson.
Jason Courson says he won't hesitate to see "The Dark Night Rises". In fact, he's looking forward to the movie.
"I'm sure it's going to be 100 percent safe. But at the same time, your thoughts are going to be with those who ere affected by what just happened," said Courson.
IMAX employees know headlines and news stories about the Colorado shooting on many peoples' minds.
"Since we are a children's museum and facility, our security measures are something that we are going over at all times. We use a professional security company, so we have the ability of having unarmed and armed security guards," said Melissa Kirby, manager of special events at the McWane center.
She says employees are trained to spot and report suspicious activity.
"We have people around at all times just being aware of who we have in our buildings and what's going on," she said.
But what if that's not enough? Birmingham police chief A.C. Roper says law enforcement has been increased in certain areas and residents should always be on alert.
But he doesn't want people to think there is imminent danger in the Birmingham area.
"We're not going to shut the city down because of some incident that happened in Colorado. Some of these things you just can't plan for because they are so far off the grid of insanity. So you do the best that you can," said Roper.
Courson says he and his wife have talked about ways to respond in public emergency situations. Both have guns and are licensed to carry. So that's an option. He says what's not an option is living in fear.
"There is too much culture of fear in America these days. You can't be afraid to drive a car, you can't be afraid to get on an airplane of what might or might not happen. You have to continue to live your life, because if you don't those people have won," he said.
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