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 on Friday.

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

Sgt. Harry Callithen of the Butler County Sheriff's office helped organize the training. He said Sheriff Mike Slupe in January asked about staging active shooter training. Callithen did some research and then contacted the association to schedule the training.

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.

Part of the goal for the officers was to take what they learned back to their home departments.

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.

Alwes said officers then need to organize and find and treat the victims.

On Friday, Alwes ran a scenario in which a prison transport bus loses several prisoners who run loose in the neighborhood. Throughout the day, he built upon that scenario, making it more complicated each time.

About noon, the scenario featured at least three shooters who ambushed officers outside the school, and ended with one of the shooters barricading himself in the library.

Alwes said he only did this particular version of the scenario because the officers had done so well and showed significant skills in previous situations.

“This is about as complicated as it gets,” Alwes said.

Callithen said he has been to active shooter drills before, and said this training helped him better understand how to handle these situations.

“This really connected the dots for me,” Callithen said.

Butler County Sheriff Deputy Kevin Stiles said he enjoyed the training.

“The whole week has been excellent and very eye-opening,” Stiles said.

Officer Aaron Zaliponi of the Adams Township Police said the training was “fantastic,” and said he learned a lot.

“In the day and age we live in today, it's very important to have this training,” Zaliponi said.

Officer Anthony Volpe came from Canada to do the training. He is the use-of-force instructor for the Hamilton, Ontario, Police Service, and is a former SWAT team member.

He said he has had training before with the National Tactical Officers Association, but said it was only two-day training sessions. He said the full week was thorough.

“It's more intense,” Volpe said.

He said the complicated scenario he had just been through was handled effectively.

“I think it went well,” Volpe said.