Florida SWAT Association holds first active shooter conference at Florida Southern College

LAKELAND, Fla. - Law enforcement officers from across the state have gathered at Florida Southern College for realistic tactical training drills. The exercises mark the first-ever conference hosted by the Florida SWAT Association to prepare teams for high-stakes emergencies.

Lakeland active shooter response

What we know:

The specialized drills require teams to confront simulated threats immediately upon arriving at a scene with minimal dispatch details. A first-responding SWAT sergeant is also leading critical debriefs focused on practical lessons learned during the historic Pulse Nightclub emergency.

"We may give them a dispatch call that says hey, there's an active shooter that there's a suspicious person in the parking lot," Sgt. Nicholas Rex said.

"As soon as they make contact with that person, they quickly learn—just like in real life—that this person is an active shooter, and they have to engage that person and stop that threat, so that's what a typical scenario here looks like," Rex explained.

Additionally, Marion County Fire Rescue deployed its full-time medical squad to practice high-stakes triage operations.

"We try to treat everything like it's a real scenario, obviously," Battalion Chief Jerimiah Kendrick said. "We go with very little information. They don't give us any information hardly at all. They let us make informed decisions on our own. Just like we would in real life."

Lakeland campus police presence

Local perspective:

The Lakeland Police Department will continue running active shooter drills on the college campus over the next couple of weeks. Local authorities are proactively notifying the neighborhood about the ongoing exercises, so residents are not alarmed by the increased law enforcement activity.

First responder program expenses

By the numbers:

The training conference costs $450 per attendee, a rate that fully includes all educational classes, on-site dorm lodging, and meals. This integrated option provides a cost-effective alternative to private instruction programs, which frequently cost around $1,700.

Florida law enforcement insights

What they're saying:

"Even if we have a successful response to an event, there are always lessons to be learned," Rex said. "There are always ways we can be better."

"We can be faster and prevent these things from happening," Rex emphasized. "And that's our message to the community. Everybody is trying the best they can, and this is where it starts."

LakelandCrime and Public Safety