Instructors watch as law enforcement officers respond during an active shooter training simulation Wednesday, March 26, 2025, at a Hallsville ISD building. (Les Hassell/Longview News-Journal Photo)

Twenty-two East Texas law enforcement officers took training Tuesday and Wednesday in Hallsville to respond to active-shooter situations.

Officers from the Tyler, Longview and Hallsville police departments joined deputies from sheriff’s offices in Smith, Gregg and Upshur counties and officers from additional agencies for training created by the ALERRT Center at Texas State University.

The Longview Police Department coordinated the training as part of its partnership with ALERRT and local law enforcement agencies. Officers used a defunct Hallsville ISD school building as their training ground.

“We want to provide every law enforcement agency in East Texas with the exact same training that we’re receiving and to give them the opportunity to receive the training,” said Longview police spokesman LaDarian Brown. “A lot of times, you have to travel out to get this stuff. Now, we’re hosting it right here in East Texas.”

Hallsville ISD allows the department to use an abandoned campus on Willow Street for training, giving officers the chance to practice in a realistic facility.

Law enforcement agencies across the nation have increased training for active-shooter scenarios in the wake of the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut. In Texas, law enforcement agencies ramped up training following the 2022 shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde.

Having local agencies take the same training means officers will be able to work together better if such a situation arises, Brown said.

“The law enforcement agencies in East Texas are training,” he said. “We are preparing. We’re not waiting for something to happen. We want to be ready.”

The ALERRT Center, which stands for Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training, was created in 2002. In 2013, FBI officials named the program as the national standard through which agents are trained to respond to critical incidents.

In Texas, law enforcement officers are required to take at least 16 hours of ALERRT training every two years, a requirement that was implemented in 2023 as one of several changes that took place following the Uvalde shooting.

Officers in Wednesday’s training practiced how to neutralize an active shooter, communicate with each other, evacuate wounded victims and more.

Longview police Sgt. Drew Allison, one of five trainers who guided officers through Wednesday’s training, said the number of classes available for law enforcement has increased significantly in the past few years. He said he hopes the training will better equip East Texas first responders.

“They’re going to get in there and save lives where they need to,” Allison said.