SANFORD, Maine (NEWS CENTER) --
Some of the deadliest mass shootings in U.S. history took place in the past decade.
If you’ve ever wondered what you should do if you found yourself in an active shooter scenario the Sanford Police Department is offering advice.
Wednesday night they held a class on how civilians can respond to active shooters.
During the course, the department teaches people to “avoid, deny and defend,” against an active shooter.
That means, avoiding the shooter by running away, denying the shooter opportunity to harm people by, for example, barricading yourself in a room and then taking action to defend yourself against the shooter if there are no other options.
That concept was developed by Texas State University.
The “Run, Hide, Fight” concept has also been used by different groups including the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Attendees on Wednesday included teachers and hospital workers, worried a shooter could be drawn to their workplace.
The Sanford course is meant to answer questions people feeling nervous might have.
“We actually discussed it a few years ago as to how can we educate the citizens without scaring them,” said Sgt. Jason Champlin from the Sanford Police Department. Champlin teaches the course.
He added, “we did this class last year and the biggest thing is we want to empower people as best we can with information and knowledge.”
Champlin says anyone interested in the course or who has questions can contact the Sanford Police Department.