Muskogee Police Offering Free Active Shooter Training Workshops

With a growing number of mass shooting across the country, the Muskogee Police Department wants to help people prepare.

The department is offering free workshops on what to do in an active shooter situation. They said it could happen anywhere, and, if it does, you should know three words - avoid, deny, defend.

Wednesday’s shooting in San Bernardino, California took place at an office holiday party; and Lincoln Anderson, with Muskogee police, said it’s more of a reality than ever.

"It's going to happen, at any point," he said.

That means it's more important than ever to know how to respond to an active shooting situation; which is why Muskogee PD is offering free classes meant to prepare people for these situations - at work, or otherwise.

Anderson said, "You can have plans in place, but these situations are so dynamic, every one of them is so different, you can't possibly plan for every scenario. The best thing you can do is know how to react to it."

The classes are called Civilian Response to Active Shooter Events, or CRASE.

There are three main tenets - Avoid, Deny, Defend.

They teach you to first, avoid, by moving away from the threat and creating distance. If leaving isn't an option, deny access to yourself - create barriers, or hide. The last resort, police said, is to be prepared to defend yourself with anything, and everything.

"Well, how do you defend yourself? You don't necessarily have to have a gun, you can take one of these chairs and start beating him half to death," Anderson said.

The hope is that you'll never need training like this, but, Anderson said, “"If you know how to react to that without even hesitating or thinking about it, then your chances of survival go up astronomically."

Muskogee PD said it hopes to have its first open class in January.

Officers will also hold workshops at your office, church or school for free.