The FBI and Key West Police Department are hosting a series of conferences during the week of August 8 to address responses to active shooter scenarios.

The conferences will discuss best practices and lessons learned from various active shooter incident responses.

Monday’s class is entitled Civilian Response to Active Shooter Events, or CRASE. This course is designed to reinforce the Avoid, Deny, and Defend strategy and provides information about surviving an active shooter event. The four-hour course is attended by Monroe County School District officials, hospital officials, fire and rescue, city staff, and business owners.

Two other sessions during the week will be directed at law enforcement: Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training, or ALERRT. This two-day course will be attended by 25 individuals from federal, state, county, and local law enforcement agencies within Monroe County, including the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office. Altogether, 50 individuals will receive ALERRT training this week.

ALERRT training is four hours of classroom followed by a 12-hour scenario-based training exercise designed to address response strategies to an active shooter situation.

The FBI is tasked to facilitate law enforcement training regarding active shooter scenarios. FBI Miami has hosted similar conferences throughout the state of Florida in its effort to assist law enforcement, fire, and emergency medical service leadership and personnel in maintaining an increased readiness in responding to critical incidents such as an active shooter.

Community involvement is crucial in understanding these strategies during a crisis. For more information regarding future training dates for the Civilian Response to Active Shooter Events, please contact the FBI's Key West Resident Agency at (305) 296-3093 or the Key West Police Department at (305) 809-1058.