Shrewsbury Officers Trained To Handle School Shootings

After the shooting at Newtown's Sandy Hook Elementary School, police departments and schools across the country are reviewing their training and plans should something like this ever happen in their town.

According to Shrewsbury Police Sergeant Chuck Pratt, officers in the department have been training for something like this for several years.

"Part of our regular firearms training includes scenarios where there is an active shooter in a school situation," Pratt said.

The training began years ago, and is something that other departments in the area have also used to train their officers.

Pratt said any specific plans for a response are handled by the school, but the officers are trained how to respond to different situations and school officials are knowledgeable about what will happen when the police do respond.

Pratt also said the department recently added a second School Resource Officer. One officer is responsible for only the high school; the other officer works in the middle and elementary schools.