The Evanston Police Department offered its first-ever “Active Shooter Response Training Class” on Oct. 5. for the public.

EPD has offered similar courses to a variety of local businesses, organizations and faith-based communities over the past few years. The department decided to extend the course to the public as a response to the mass shooting in Aurora, Illinois earlier this year.

“Unfortunately, mass shootings have become a common occurrence in today’s society,” the city wrote in a press release. “As we strive to equip citizens and residents with the tools needed to maintain personal safety, we feel it is important to offer this training to the Evanston community as a whole.”

Forty-five people signed up for the class, but Officer Enjoli Daley said to the Chicago Tribune that she worried for the safety of those who did not receive training.

However, the Tribune noted that police officers did not want to share every tactic for surviving a mass shooting or attack outside of the course.

“If we put it out to everybody at any given time, that means your active shooter is going to know ‘OK well people might be doing this or that,’” Daley said to the Chicago Tribune. “We don’t want to prepare anybody to hurt anyone.”

Daley said the course was a success, and the department is considering holding another one in the future.

“We will debrief and see how this went and see what the need is,” Daley said. “I think this is something pretty popular based off of this. This is something the community is (receiving well) and may like more of.”

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