MUSCLE SHOALS, Ala. (WHNT) – Northwest-Shoals Community College (NW-SCC) hosted an active shooter emergency training exercise for first responders in Colbert County on November 3.

In this exercise, first responders acted as if an active shooter had already been detained. Over 100 students volunteered to act as if they were injured and distract first responders.

EMS and police were asked to come into the school building, clear the rooms, and triage the students that were pretending to be injured.

NW-SCC Director of Public Relations and Marketing, Trent Randolph, told News 19 that exercises like these are extremely important to keep students safe.

“You always have to be prepared for the worst,” Randolph said. “We pray that that is not something that we ever have to deal with, but we want to make sure that all the players that would be involved are familiar with what would need to happen in the event of a real situation.”

The exercise was repeated multiple times in two separate parts of campus. Authorities from Tuscumbia, Muscle Shoals, Sheffield, Colbert County, Helen Keller Hospital, and more were involved.