No Spring Break for Texas City SWAT team practicing active shooter drill

TEXAS CITY, Texas (KTRK) -- Although it's spring break for most Houston area schools, local police are making sure they're ready in case of the worst-case scenario.

Time and time again, school shootings have dominated the headlines. Most recently in Parkland, Florida, where 17 students lost their lives to a lone gunman.

The sheriff's office there drew heavy criticism for its response.

In Texas City, SWAT teams from several different agencies got some real-world training to sharpen their skills in the event they encounter an active shooter.

"You have to constantly train. Muscle memory is everything," said Lt. Clayton Pope, with Texas City Police Department.

Although the desks and hallways were empty at Texas City High School, due to spring break, there was lots of work going on.

Lt. Pope says the more prepared his officers are, the safer students will be.

They practiced entering the building and classrooms in military formation, how to react when an officer or student is down, and even put a bomb robot to use.

According to Bomb Squad Commander William Creel, "The robot's also got cameras on it that we can use in hostage negotiations. If we have to, it's got speakers we can speak through it, so we can hear everything that's going on."

It's all training that will keep officers a step ahead of the bad guys and save lives should they be faced with the terror of a school shooting.