At least 17 killed and others injured after a teen opens fire on a high school in South Florida. The chaos bringing a large response from law enforcement. Though the shooting happened thousands of miles away it now has police departments across the country and right here at home making sure their officers are always ready for the unexpected.

Staying on their toes when it comes to an active shooter call. GPD spokesperson Sgt. Paul Tapao said, "It all starts with training and it all starts with our officers understanding each and every individuals roles and responsibility when responding to something like this and that size of magnitude."

The nightmare unfolding today in this Parkland, Florida high school ended with more than a dozen dead and others injured. The gunman, a 19 year old former student, taken into custody. The motive under investigation, but Florida governor Rick Scott called the shooting "pure evil."

"We send our condolences out to the families and friends who may be in Florida," he added.

The shooting brought out a major response from law enforcement. It's that sort of action that GPD sergeant Paul Tapao says they constantly practice. "We have officers that are trainers who provide the training on a continual basis," he said. "Our first line of defense are our patrol officers so every officer that we see on the road have been trained with the active shooter situation and it's a directive threat approach."

That approach meaning those officers are first on scene and first to take out any potential threat. GPD also train's with local schools and private businesses on lock down and emergency procedures, and in an active shooter situation - when to hide, run, or fight back.

"We are learning from all the experiences and incidents that are happening," he said.