INDIANAPOLIS — A room full of people gathered Wednesday at IMPD's Southwest District on King Avenue to learn how to survive an active shooter situation.
"I just want to be prepared to protect my family and my church family and handle the situation," said Rodney Davis. "Unfortunately, as you can see, it's happening a lot. I want to make sure we are in a position to stop the threat."
IMPD's Southwest District hosted the free training. The event had been planned well before a recent deadly shooting at a Tennessee school.
"It gives people options on what to do in a scenario like that, not just an active shooter but any type of natural disaster," said Sgt. David Spurgeon.
Davis has kids who attend a private school. He's also on the security team at his church. He said Wednesday's event taught him the importance of having a plan.
"As an average person, you just go to work, go to church. You're not just thinking about these kinds of things. What the sergeant talked about today helped me open up my mind to be more aware," Davis said.
Spurgeon's goal was for everyone in the room to remember three tips.
"Avoid, deny, defend. We want people to avoid conflict all together. If they can't deny access to their location and if they have to, they may have to defend themselves," said Spurgeon.
Having a plan in place anywhere you go is an essential part of your defense.
"To have a preexisting plan in place is vital to your survival," Spurgeon said. "The longer it takes for you to get to through this process of denial deliberation, to that decisive moment to where you're going to react, your chances of survival are decreasing," said Spurgeon.
Spurgeon said it's also vital to be familiar with the exits in your surroundings so that you can immediately get out in the event of an emergency.