Two free training sessions will be offered this month to teach the public what to do during an active shooter event.
Trinity United Methodist Church will host the first Civilian Response to Active Shooter Events (CRASE) training session at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday.
The second session will be held at 6 p.m. Oct. 15 at The Belle Opry House.
Both sessions are free to the public.
The Snyder Police Department will conduct the training.
The training is designed to teach people what to do if they are caught in the middle of an active shooter event.
“The goal of this interactive class is to help you understand what you can do to improve your safety everyday and during a crisis,” said Belle Opry House owner Robert Swinney.
He attended an out-of-town CRASE training and asked the Snyder Police Department if they could lead a session here.
Swinney said Lt. Mike Counts was agreeable.
“He was ready to lead it,” Swinney said. “I thought it would be good to have this type of training in Snyder.”
Swinney said the Opry House can hold up to 200 people for the training.
Since 2018, the department has held training sessions around Snyder.
Simply put, citizens’ responses to an active shooter event can be summed up by the acronym ADD — Avoid, Deny and Defend.
“If you’re in a situation, get out of there if it’s possible,” Counts said. “We want you to do that even if you’re carrying a licensed firearm.”
If, however, you are trapped, there are still options, Counts said.
“If you’re in a situation where you can’t avoid the threat, you should try to barricade yourself and others in an area in an attempt to deny the shooter access to you.”
If those two options disappear, however, the option of last resort is to defend yourself against the shooter, Counts said.
“Sadly, these kinds of events are happening more and more often,” he said. “We not only want to have police trained on how to respond to such an event, but citizens, as well.”
Counts said additional classes are being scheduled by local groups, including one class for Cogdell Memorial Hospital employees and Snyder ISD faculty members.
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