Law enforcement agencies hailing from all across Albany County will practice responding to active-shooter scenarios over the next several days at a site in Laramie.

Laramie County Community College's Albany County Campus will host the drills Tuesday through Friday. The drills will look realistic as they will involve weapons and simulated gunshots.

"We need to learn to work together with the other law enforcement agencies, as most of them would respond as well in the event of an active shooter," says Lt. Gwen Smith of the Laramie Police Department. "We train with all of the agencies and try to make sure our skills are ready in the unfortunate event that something like this happens.

Smith says all law enforcement agencies in Albany County were invited to train with instructors from the Albany County Sheriff's Office, Laramie Police Department and University of Wyoming Police Department.

"In the past, we have had the enforcement officers for Game and Fish as well as State Parks and some of the others if they're available," Smith says.

Buildings such as those at the LCCC Albany County Campus present good training opportunities because, Smith says, they replicate areas that may be targets and they are not out in the open.

"LCCC is perfect," Smith says. "They have lots of doorways and lots of hallways, so it's a good training site."

The combined Special Response Team for Albany County will train separately from other officers, who will train in regular uniforms. The majority of drills will be conducted inside the building.

Smith says signs will be posted on the building and set up around the perimeter to make the public aware that the event is only a training in order to keep the public and the officers safe.

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