QUINCY, Fla. (WTXL) - In November, religious leaders in Gadsden County gathered to learn about an active shooter training.
Over a hundred religious leaders within the Gadsden County area came together for an active shooter training and exercise.
The morning started with a lesson on how to communicate with and identify potentially dangerous people who may enter their church.
By the end of the class, church leaders were ready for the mock active shooter activity.
The Gadsden County Sheriffs Office broke up the religious leaders into small groups, where they learned to run from the suspect, hide if there's no way out, or fight as a last resort.
"We just think it's important in Gadsden county for everybody to have the ability to be safe," says Major Shawn Wood with the Gadsden County Sheriff's Office. "When you're in church, it's a place that we always assume that it's a safe place to be. What we're trying to do is just teach awareness. We want people to feel safe in their community and where they are."
Now that religious leaders understand what to do in the event of an active shooter situation, they can go back to their own places of worship and spread the word among their congregation.
Gadsden County commissioners approved the use of funds for this active shooter training for the religious leaders in the county and the sheriff's office.
