Active shooter training fully booked in weeks following Las Vegas shooting

In the aftermath of a deadly mass shooting in Las Vegas, 30 people have signed up to take an active shooter course in Manatee County.

Wednesday will be the last of several free active shooter training class Manatee County Sheriff’s Deputy Yvonne Daniels teaches, but it’s not the last opportunity for the training.

Daniels is retiring but said the active shooter trainings will be carried on by the sheriff’s office.

“It’s a very sensitive topic, it’s scary, it’s emotional but it’s something we need to talk about,” Daniels said.

Her class was capped at 30 people, but Daniels said the sheriff’s office can send individuals out to larger locations for similar trainings if requested.

Daniels had the training planned about a month before a gunman opened fire out of his hotel room window on a crowd of outdoor concert-goers Oct. 1 in Las Vegas. Fifty-eight people died and hundreds more were injured. The gunman, 64-year-old Stephen Craig Paddock, had killed himself by the time police entered his hotel room, authorities said.

The fully-booked class, scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Crime Prevention Conference Room, 600 301 Blvd W., will focus on strategies and simple things people can do to increase their chances of surviving an encounter with an active shooter and learning warning signs before it happens.

“If you don’t know what to do, you become more vulnerable,” Daniels said.

Those interested in booking a future active shooter training course can contact the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office at 941-747-3011.

This story was originally published October 13, 2017 at 1:33 PM with the headline "Active shooter training fully booked in weeks following Las Vegas shooting."