Police officers, firefighters, and emergency responders in Brockton, Massachusetts, are putting their training to the test by participating in active shooter training drills.
First responders voluntarily took part in a simulated active shooter drill at the Goddard School on Friday which created scenarios that included a person with a gun and a hostage situation.
The scenarios teach first responders how to quickly enter a building, isolate and neutralize a threat.
Friday's drill is the second of three being held this month.
"The state of our world now, and our country, has dictated that we have a need for this," said Brockton Police Captain Jeff Marchetti.
The Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training program was developed at Texas State University. It's where Brockton officer Christopher Perez was certified to train others.
With training modeled after information from incident reports following Columbine and Newtown, Perez said it's important to learn the skill of rapid response.
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"The first wave of police are stepping over victims to get to the shooter but now they are being followed in by teams of police and fire together for the purpose of getting the victims before they die," said Perez. "And with Columbine, where it took so long to clear a building and make it safe, traditionally police would go in and do their job very independently of us. We've realized that wasn't conducive to saving lives."
The training in Brockton is not mandatory but being strongly encouraged. First responders are planning another drill Nov. 14.
