TYLER (KYTX) -- College police officers are learning how to deal with a shooter on---or off--campus. The Tyler Junior College Police Department faced down a fake shooter Wednesday morning.
While the football team practiced and the marching band rehearsed, 20 FBI agents and TJC police officers were taking part in sort of a small-scale war game. They were storming staircases and inching down hallways, looking for a killer.
"I've been feeling really unsafe," Freshman Alex Lopez said. "Just everywhere I go, everywhere I sit down, I just kind of look over my shoulder and hope nobody really has a gun. I'm glad they're doing their best to keep us safe."
"It also goes to other scenarios," TJC Police Chief Randy Melton said. "It's not just an active shooter."
Melton teamed up with the FBI with the goal of making sure his relatively small police force is world-class.
"To make sure we have a very safe campus, the safest campus there can be, it is part of our duties to make sure we train with the best practices available," Melton said.
To make sure nothing got out of hand, no one used their service weapons.
Instead it was a fleet of AR-15s and Sig Sauers designed mark the target instead of hurting or destroying it.
"We're going to have what we call a hot wash after this where we sit and we say 'What worked? What didn't work?'" FBI Special Agent Brent Chambers said.
Chambers wants to expand the training to include more local law enforcement.
"Because realistically, if a critical incident happens, everyone's going to show up," Chambers said. "You'll have constables show up. You'll have state troopers show up."
It's a strategy the students give an A+.
"Everyone needs to know how to be protected because that's all that's been going on lately," Chelsea Earl said.
Melton said the timing of this training and the College Station shooting is just a coincidence. he said the training has been planned for months.
