Reflecting on the 2003 Lockheed Martin shootings in Meridian

According to the Associated Press, the gunman in Thursday's deadly shooting spree at a newspaper office in Maryland had an escape plan in place that he never used. Jarrod Ramos, 38, is currently in police custody. Lauderdale County Sheriff Billie Sollie says workplace shootings such as Thursday's sadly remind him of the one that happened 15 years ago at Lockheed Martin in Meridian. The tragedy left 7 people dead and 8 others injured. Since that happened, Sheriff Sollie says a national policy has been put in place to put an end to these type situations as soon as possible.

"Everytime we have one of these in our nation we have to relive the facts of that day," says Sollie. "The smells, the tears, dealing with the individuals at the scene trying to make them emotionally stable. We have to relive that everytime we have one of these in our country. Now we have what we call an active shooter response. It's where that first law enforcement officer knowing that he or she may die in the entrance to a building, they're suppose to go into that building and confront the shooter as quickly as possible; that's instead of waiting for support to get there to go in."

Since the Lockheed shootings, the family of one of the victims has sponsored Reconciliation Week activities in Meridian each summer. This year's activities will be held throughout the week of July 9th.