“The primary thing through the officers’ minds is getting there as quick as they can,” Assistant Chief Jesse Reyes, with the Dallas Police Department, said.

They serve as places people should feel the safest, places like the For Oak Cliff community center in Dallas, which became the scene of an active shooter event last August, taking the life of Dallas police officer Darron Burks.

“The awareness is an important thing, having the knowledge, having a plan ahead of time is what all this training is about,” Reyes said

This weekend, Dallas Police, along with 30 other law enforcement agencies across North Texas, will host the largest ever active shooter training event of its kind in the U.S. The Civilian Response to Active Shooter Events, known as CRASE.

“What they do in the first seconds of an event before the sirens, before the helicopter arrives, before the guns and the bulletproof vest arrive, what they do absolutely matters as to the outcome,” Jeoff Williams, Retired Lt. Col. from the Texas Department of Public Safety, said.

Williams says on average it takes law enforcement just under three minutes to respond to an active shooter event, moments he says are crucial for citizens to know how to react as immediate responders.

“This training helps override the paralysis and gives people a plan. It’s the pre-programming of the answer; the answer is very simply this: it follows an acronym, A.D.D. Avoid, Deny, Defend,” Williams said.

According to the FBI’s Active Shooter Incidents Report, Texas had the highest number of incidents in 2024, four active shooter events that resulted in 11 deaths.

North Texas law enforcement is now calling on parents, teachers and business owners to join the life-saving training this Saturday, they say is critical in the crucial moments before they arrive on scene.

“I hope that the people who attend this training never have to use it and I certainly hope they never have to use it here in Texas, but if they do, we want to give them the tools that they need,” Williams said.

The C.R.A.S.E. training is free and open to the public. It’s happening this Saturday from 8:00 am to 12:00 pm. More information is available online.