Update June 20: Both the July 13 and Aug. 31 active shooter and Stop the Bleed training classes are full.
James City County Fire and Police have organized additional dates on Oct. 5 at the Law Enforcement Center and Nov. 16 at the Fire Administration building.
The courses are free. People can register for classes on Signup Genius.
Original story:
In the days following the Virginia Beach Municipal Center mass shooting, officials said recent active shooter training may have helped spare some lives.
It’s been 17 days since the gunman opened fire in Virginia Beach, leaving 12 dead, and James City County Police and Fire have already announced they have two of their own active shooter trainings scheduled for this summer.
James City County Police will have Civilian Response to Active Shooter Events (CRASE) trainings followed by Stop the Bleed trainings on July 13 and Aug. 31, the county announced in a news release.
The sessions will run from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on those days.
CRASE will teach civilians strategies for surviving an active shooter event, which is based on the avoid, deny, defend strategy developed by Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training in 2004.
Stop the Bleed will follow CRASE and give trainees strategies and practical skills to handle and stop bleeding after a traumatic event and injury, such as an active shooter.
Stop the Bleed was developed after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Connecticut left 26 adults and children dead in 2012, police wrote in the release.
James City County has also hosted other active shooter trainings in the past.
The July 13 training will be at the Fire Administration building, at 5077 John Tyler Highway.
The Aug. 31 training will be at the Law Enforcement Center, at 4600 Opportunity Way.
The CRASE and Stop the Bleed trainings can also be tailored to specific businesses or organizations and brought to them upon request, according to the news release.
Those looking for more information should contact Assistant Fire Marshal Michelle Toutaint at 757-565-7607.