CORAL GABLES, FLA. (WSVN) - The Coral Gables Police Department held an active shooter training session at a temple in Coral Gables.
SWAT team members participated in the simulation at Temple Judea, located in the area of Aguero Avenue and Marius Street, off U.S. 1, on Thursday morning.
They worked to create an effective response plan in the event of an emergency at the place of worship.
“We train very hard for this. We just hope it never does happen,” said one training officer. “If it does happen, what we have to do is get here as soon as possible, try to neutralize and kill the subject or stop the subject from causing more damage or killing people. As soon as we do that we have to start trying to save lives.”
The department hosts different drills, similar to the one held on Thursday, at different locations. Each drill presents different challenges.
“The key to our training like this is that we have, and our officers have, familiarity with the rooms and the layouts of these buildings,” said Coral Gables Police Chief Ed Hudak.
Places of worship have become frequent targets in recent years. Thursday’s training comes just days after a man was shot outside of a Northeast Miami-Dade synagogue and a suspicious package with threats were left at a Surfside synagogue.
Hudak said he wants his agency to be as prepared as possible.
“The training is twofold. It’s to protect everybody else and to make sure that none of us have to put another band on our badges to memorialize an officer that’s killed,” he said.
The Coral Gables Police Department hosts these training sessions once a year to stay prepared.
“Come and talk to us,” said the training officer. “We can give people pointers, and we can give people hints and also help them understand what we have to go through and what they can do to help us in a crisis like this.”
Copyright 2025 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.