Active Shooter Training At State Patrol Academy Keeps Gaining In Popularity

GOLDEN, Colo. (CBS4) - People from across the U.S. came to Colorado this weekend to train for emergency situations, in particular an active shooter. It was the largest training of its kind in the country.

The active shooter class continues to grow in popularity. Part of the reason is because it combines former and current law enforcement, military members and civilians, so anyone can learn alongside the professionals about how to take action in an active shooter situation and be the first line of defense.

"I originally started because I wanted a good workout but I hate going to gyms because it's useless, it has no meaning. This has a lot of meaning," participant Kevin Moyers said.

The class is a first for Kevin Moyers and his wife Cecilia.

"You know in case something happens maybe I know how to defend myself," Cecilia Moyers said.

The class goes over a number of defense strategies for various situations. Participants use mock long guns to simulate an active shooter. The type of self-defense is called krav maga and is widely used for law enforcement and military self-defense. The class allows for both law enforcement and civilians to do the training together.

"So they don't often get to train together. This particular type of training that we're doing is bringing law enforcement into the civilian world as opposed to bringing the civilians into the law enforcement world because we're training civilians to be the first responders," instructor James Hiromasa said.

Aside from the practicality of the training there's an actual need for civilians to have this knowledge.

"The average time of mass shooting usually lasts about 3 minutes and then a lot of people are dead so the best people to respond to an active attack like that are the people that are right there," Hiromasa said.

"I know that there are a lot of potential threats out there. I just want to be prepared and aware and able to help myself and help them should I have to, and that's what motivates me to train hard and be able to defend and protect my kids and myself," participant Sepi Melamed said.

The class is held every year. It's already in its 12th year and it's so popular that it's almost outgrown its current facility at the State Patrol Academy, so they will be looking for a bigger facility for next year so more people can attend.