INTRO:
In the United States, hardly a week goes by without a mass shooting — this week alone saw the attack on a Congressman and others in Virginia, and a multiple-casualty attack in San Francisco. 
Law enforcement are constantly updating the training and technology they use to prepare for these tragedies — and in the state of Colorado, one school district has gone so far as converting a primary school into a training center for active shooter situations. Channel NewsAsia’s Mary MacCarthy reports:

((TAKE PKG)) 

((Exterior shots of Martenson Elementary))

NAT SOUND: “It’s a beautiful day”

On the outside, this looks like a normal school in a quiet American suburb… 
But it’s been transformed to re-create the horror of a mass shooting.
And instead of children sitting in classrooms, law enforcement officers are engaging in intense exercises

<< SOT: John McDonald, Head of Security for Jefferson County Public Schools// English >>
“This is a school where a lot of gunshots take place. A lot of explosions, simulated explosions, a lot of screaming, yelling. This is where law enforcement train in their tactics.”
<<PTC Mary MacCarthy, Jefferson County, Colorado>>
“Martenson Elementary is in Jefferson County — home to the infamous 1999 Columbine High School massacre in which thirteen people were killed. Since then, there have been three more school shootings in the county. And that’s pushed officials here to increase security in schools.”
<< SOT:  Frank DeAngelis, Former principal of Columbine High School>>  “People believe it happens in other places, it doesn’t happen in their community or school.”// English >>

((Interview set-up shots; B-roll of police))

Frank DeAngelis was the principal at Columbine when the shooting happened…

The training center is named after him… And he says police officers assigned here as School Resource Officers  — or SROs — are taught to respond immediately if a gunman enters the school. 

<<SOT: Frank DeAngelis, Former principal of Columbine High School>>
“On that day at Columbine, we had an SRO that was on duty but he was doing what he was told to do. // The protocol at the time was to wait until SWAT arrived, 45 minutes later, but by then the thirteen had lost their lives.”

((B-roll of active shooter training center))

Reacting immediately and with deadly force if necessary, is one of the lessons learned at Columbine that have helped save lives in subsequent mass shootings… 

((Shots of John McDonald firing gun at target, in simulation))
NAT SOUND: "Hands up, hands up! Where is he?" (sound of shots fired) 

A successful response requires law enforcement officers to be ready to shoot a gunman on the spot...

And teachers and students must also know how to react… 

Soundbite: John McDonald, Head of Security for Jefferson County Public Schools
“Active shooter drills start at age three, in preschool — and go through high school. As kids get more mature, we elevate the training.”
 Schools recognise that the drills can be potentially traumatic for children, but say that learning to deal with an active shooter is a skill they need in today’s world. 

Mary MacCarthy, Channel NewsAsia, Denver, Colorado.