Police and SWAT team officers in Clermont spent two days this week training at a Lake County school for a mass shooting situation.
It was just a drill, but an important one, Clermont police Chief Charles Broadway said, to ensure the safety and "provide the highest level of service to residents and visitors."
"In the society that we live in today, violent mass-casualty situations are becoming more frequent," the Clermont Police Department said in a statement Friday. "The shootings at a Colorado movie theater and Sandy Hook Elementary School are tragic reminders of the reality of mass-casualty incidents and the importance of being prepared."
The police department's SWAT team recently attended an active shooter training program at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Glynco, Georgia. The four-day course taught officers the latest trends and techniques used to respond to active shooters and mass-casualty situations.
To follow up on that training, SWAT officers spent Wednesday and Thursday performing a training exercise at East Ridge Middle School, where in May a student threatened to kill his teachers, school staff and himself.
Police said they chose the school not because of the threat earlier this year, but based on its architecture, which includes a variety of interior and exterior stairs and catwalks.
Officers completed several scenarios this week involving an active shooter situation that they might encounter in the real world.
"No matter how much we train, there is going to be that shock factor, that 'wow' factor, this is real," said Clermont police Capt. Michael McMaster. "So, that's what we wanted to do. We wanted to make sure our officers experienced some aspect of it as much as we could."
"Although I am very optimistic about the safety of the community, it is important that our officers are trained and prepared for the worst possible situations," Chief Broadway said.
This week's drills also included more hands-on and personalized training for each officer, the police department said.