Police in Uvalde, Texas, participated in training to respond to active shooter incidents just nine weeks before the deadly shooting at Robb Elementary School.

The Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District (UCISD) Police Department hosted an active shooter course at Uvalde High School on March 21 that covered topics including “unified response,” “stop the killing” and “stop the dying.”

A pamphlet for the event said the training was intended for “Peace Officers, School Resource Officers (SROs) and campus security officers.”

The Southwest Texas Junior College (SWTJC) Law Enforcement Academy shared details on March 1.

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SWTJC Law Enforcement Academy’s March 1 garnered renewed attention following the shooting at Robb Elementary as police have been sharply criticized for their response to the attack.

“The next day they posted the class was full. There don’t appear to be any other updates about the training posted on the Southwest Texas Junior College Law Enforcement Academy Facebook page,” Gutowski wrote.

On March 22, UCISD Police Department shared information about the event on its Facebook page.

“On Monday the UCISD Police Department hosted an ‘Active Shooter Training’ at the Uvalde High School,” the post said. “Our overall goal is to train every Uvalde area law enforcement officer so that we can prepare as best as possible for any situation that may arise.”

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“We have hosted several of these courses and plan to continue to do so,” the post went on, and thanked those who were involved in the training “for supporting our plans to keep our children and staff safe.”

It is not clear how many officers attended the event.

Local police have been criticized for its handling of the Texas shooting. According to reports, the police did not act on time to storm into the classroom where the shooter had barricaded himself. 

There have also been claims that one of the victims bled to death as she waited for police to arrive.