Daytona Beach police officers are making sure residents know what to do should they ever find themselves in an "active shooter" situation. In the wake of the Pulse nightclub tragedy, police say it’s extremely important to be prepared.

  • Community "Active Shooter" class held by Daytona Beach Police
  • Main messages: "It can happen anywhere" and "run, hide, and if necessary, fight"

The nightmare at Orlando's Pulse nightclub two weeks ago has been an eyeopener for the nation. It's what brought dozens of residents like Hildegarde Postell together Saturday at the Daytona Beach Police Department for a community "Active Shooter" seminar.

“I was devastated," said Postell. "After what just happened at Pulse, I'm going to go and see what I can learn to protect myself."

The message “it can happen anywhere” echoed across the room as police warned people to always be prepared.

“If he was outside shooting, I could've been driving by, I could've caught one of the bullets, it can happen to anybody anywhere,” said Postell.

Captain Lance Blanchette has been teaching the class for years. He had just completed the latest course four days prior to the Pulse shooting.

“There is no planning for one of these types of things," said Blanchette. "It is a reaction, but how you react can be the determining factor if you your loved ones come out alive."

The three takeaways from the seminar were to  “run, hide, and if you have to, fight.”

“It's important to look at your surroundings through your eyes of survival and look at weapons you have around you, should you have to fight, anything you can grab that increases your odds of taking down a bad guy,” said Blanchette.
 
Blanchette added that if you find yourself in a situation with an active shooter, make sure you close the door, find something to barricade the door, put your cell phone on silent, and then turn off the lights in the room you’re hiding in.

“I think now we'll be more aware of a situation and look at the walls and the doors, the exits where we could run two or hide,” said participant Bob Coleman.

Those are techniques the captain told the participants he believes may have kept more people alive at Pulse the night of the shooting.

“What I did learn from this course is that maybe so many lives did not have to be lost if they had known what to do,” said Postell.

The next community active shooter class in Daytona will be held in October.