HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — An Ybor City business owner is teaming up with the Doer Academy to offer training to prevent violence in the area.
This comes one month after the mass shooting in Ybor City that killed two people and injured more than a dozen others.
Tom Degeorge explained he doesn't think this is an Ybor City issue—it's a national problem.
“Every community has problems. It’s not the first time we’ve had something in Ybor City. It's not the first time in Tampa,” Degeorge said.
He's called Ybor City home for more than 20 years now. Degeorge wants to be proactive and prevent a tragic event like the Halloween weekend shooting from happening again.
“This is my community. I got married here to my wife. We love this area,” he said.
Degeorge wants to hold quarterly trainings for community members and business owners to learn about de-escalation tactics.
Right now, he has four training topics picked out. They include active shooter training, de-escalation, inclusive diversity and equality training, and emergency medical training.
Speakers from The Doer Academy will be presenting the training at the Entrepreneur Collaborative Center at noon on Wednesday, Nov. 29.
They will share strategies for safety, improve awareness skills and teach people how to communicate during emergencies.
The Doer Academy said that after the first training, people will be equipped to protect themselves and create a more resilient community.
Click here to register for the training.
