HOLLYWOOD, Fla. – A group of South Florida educators spent their Sunday morning learning how to protect themselves and their students against classroom threats. Technon Tactical Academy in Hollywood offered a free defense course for school staff members, in the wake of recent school shootings.
Sunday's class began with a personal safety video. Each participant also participated in one-on-one exercises with a safety instructor and learned the basics of a gun.
Teachers who attended the course told Local 10's Carlos Suarez December's school shooting in Connecticut has inspired them to prepare for the worst.
"It's scary nowadays what we have to go through," said kindergarten teacher Maria Sanabria. "With the unexpected and the unknown, we want to be as best prepared as we can be."
"Twenty years ago when I first started I would have never thought that we would have to be taking a self defense class to protect ourselves, our children," agreed fellow kindergarten teacher Kim Winfred.
Sunday's class ran from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The free course filled up quickly after Technon Tactical announced it.
The company plans to hold another class on February 15.
Click here to learn how to register.