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WEBER COUNTY — Officers and deputies in Weber County are training this week to learn how to stop an active shooter in a school.
Since 1980, nearly 300 people have died in more than 130 school shootings across the United States. There have been 15 school shootings in 2015 alone, including the community college shooting in Oregon last month.
Officers practiced some lifesaving techniques in an abandoned school Wednesday. A national training program gets officers working together to shut down a deadly situation.
"We learn how to make entries, communicate with hand signals," explained deputy Daniel Zisumbo of the Weber County Sheriff's Office.
The Weber County Sheriff's Office had an eye-opening incident a year ago when a student went to school at Fremont High with a gun in his waistband. The student allegedly intended to shoot classmates, but a fellow student spotted the gun and told authorities.
That incident required a multi-agency response. It also served to remind local authorities that shootings can happen anywhere.
"Having it that close to home made it even more real," said Cpl. Rich Clawson of the Weber County Sheriff's Office.
Just a month ago, students spoke up at a Venture Academy charter school in Weber County and foiled the plot of a 15-year-old who was arming himself for a drive-by shooting.
Ever since the shooting at Columbine High School in Colorado, tactics have changed nationwide; patrol officers no longer wait for a SWAT team to arrive.
"Through lessons learned, we've determined that it's better to have the patrol officers go in and engage the threat immediately," Clawson said.
As they train more officers in response tactics, confidence in their ability to handle a shooting situation grows.
Officers said they discuss scenarios when they come up in the news. They've also been discussing how to handle potential terrorist attacks like the ones perpetrated in Paris.
