Indio city staff get active shooter situation training

With mass shootings growing all too common nationwide, staff of the city of Indio learned how to stay safe in the case of an active shooter situation.

On Thursday, Indio Police Sergeant Jeremy Hellawell took employees through the steps to stay protected which included:

• What to do if a gunman were to enter the building
• How to respond when law enforcement arrives
• Recognizing the signs of potential workplace violence.

“I think it's important that people understand the severity of it, how fast it occurs. They're generally unpredictable. So we just never know when and where it's going to happen. But the reality is, is it could happen anywhere. And it can happen to any one of us at anytime,” said Hellawell

Hellawell talked about past mass shootings – and the patterns seen in several of them.  According to a case study about mass shootings conducted from 2011 to 2013, 14 of 17 gunmen, or 79 percent, were deemed mentally ill.

The three remaining were classified as other reasons.

Hellawell said the importance of this training is not only physical survival, but mental survival after going through these traumatic experiences.

He said there are several resources and ways to reach out if you need help.