Callaway County law enforcement participate in active shooter training

New law enforcement officers from the Callaway County Sheriff’s Office and Holts Summit Police Department participated in active shooter training Saturday.

The all day training was held at North Elementary School on South Summit Drive. Officers started the day by learning about the history of active shooters at schools along with the fundamentals of how to encounter an active shooter situation.

Assistant Holts Summit Police Chief Shannon Jeffries said new officers are required to take eight hours of basic active shooter training. He said the agencies try to do advanced trainings twice a year.

“If we go back to Columbine High School, there basically was no training,” he said. “To now, it’s a one officer response. We’re not waiting for a swat team. When that first officer gets that call and he arrives on scene, he’s coming in.”

The training then moved to more hands-on learning. Officers used guns with rubber bullets to enter classrooms and hallways looking for the active shooter.

“It’s very important that we not only train this but that we’re mentally and physically prepared for it,” Jeffries said. “It’s an event that we never want to see happen in an community.”