With so many stories of gunmen killing people in public places, Don Alwes of the National Tactical Officers Association said there is a growing need for active shooter training.

“Sadly, yes,” Alwes said Friday.

Because of that about 10 officers from Butler County and elsewhere spent the past week training for what to do in situations where a shooter is loose and active. Alwes was the lead trainer.

They finished that training on Friday.

On Monday, officers did classroom training in Butler. On Tuesday and Wednesday, they worked on scenarios at Broad Street Elementary. Thursday and Friday, they were at Meridian Elementary School.

At Broad Street, officers worked on scenarios where a “lone wolf” shooter is active. Alwes said the training involved teams with only a few officers in them.

“We're training officers to go in small numbers,” Alwes said.

At Meridian, the scenarios involved more than one shooter, and a larger number of officers responding.

“It's a group,” Alwes said.

When dealing with active shooter scenarios, the first job that officers need to have is stopping the shooter, Alwes said.

“Everything else is secondary,” Alwes said.

On Friday, Alwes ran a scenario where a prison transport bus lost several prisoners who are loose in the neighborhood. Throughout the day, he built up on that scenario, making it more complicated each time.