Mineral County sheriff’s office deputies’ trained last week on how to respond to an active shooter, a not so uncommon event played out in cities and towns across America.

Due to the sensitive nature of the training and practice sessions, details of the scenarios that the officers were placed in were not shared, yet the officers involved were able to practice at the Mineral County School District – Arlo Funk Administrative Building.

This is the first such training to be held in years for many of these officers and for some, the first time they have encountered mock situations such as those posed before them.

Each officer went solo into the scenarios and was later followed by back up, giving each the opportunity to judge the situation as either first on scene or to help a fellow deputy. The officers practiced dynamic entries in both single and multiple team entries.

The situations would change as the officers entered the building or rooms, the scenario set forth by Lt. Brian Dillard or Undersheriff Bill Ferguson.

Sheriff Randy Adams said, “This will be the first of many training sessions that these deputies undergo,” as he explained other incidents that the deputies could be encountering on their daily patrols.

Scenarios of an active shooter can be anything from a disgruntled employee, an angry spouse or partner, one person walking into a school or building or even a group of terrorists.

While witnessing the training, it was hard to grasp the event as it unfolds, due to how fast the event happens. Once a shot is fired, within one minute, in most situations, the incident was resolved.

One deputy said, “And that is what makes these types of situations so deadly. How quickly they unfold.”