A capacity audience of 800 people is signed up for the Marietta Police Department’s event Wednesday night in Cobb County to teach the public how to best prepare for and respond to an active shooter situation.

The training was already in the works before attacks in the U.S. and abroad, but those shootings have the community ready to learn.

Officer Brittany Wallace says public preparedness is important, because law enforcement can’t always respond to an incident immediately.

“We’re good, but we’re not that good, and we can get there between three to five minutes,” she says. “With that three to five minutes, if people know how to react and know what to do, they can potentially save their lives and other peoples’ lives around them.”

She says the training teaches anyone in an active shooter situation to avoid, deny, and defend.

“If you can avoid it, avoid it altogether. If you find yourself in a room, deny access. Block the doors. Put things in front of the door. If you’re in a position where you can’t run and you have to fight back, fight,” she says.

Along with the strong public interest, Wallace says the seminar has received the attention of other law enforcement agencies in metro Atlanta looking to offer similar public trainings.

She also says the Marietta Police Department plans to hold another active shooter seminar sometime next year.

Tags: Metro Atlanta; Marietta Police Department; active shooter