Many are in shock tonight that yet another school shooting has taken the lives of children.

Although it happened across the country, police and safety officials here remind us the importance of being prepared.

Kate Porras, spokesperson for the Police Department said, "We're really working hard to make sure that our area doesn't have the ‘it can't happen here’ syndrome."

"Breaks my heart, I mean my job is to make sure these types of situations don't happen in our school. They're going to happen, they can happen anywhere whether it be in a school, movie theater or a mall," said Director of Safety for School District 51, Tim Leon.

Friday morning's shooting at an elementary school in Connecticut has left more than two dozen dead has parents across the country understandably shaken.

"It’s horrible it makes you feel like your not safe anywhere," said a concerned parent from Grand Junction.

"I don't know whether to send them home for home-school, or send them to school," said another upset Grand Junction parent.

Leon says not only are faculty and staff trained to take immediate action in these types of emergencies, but students are informed as well.

"Students are trained from kindergarten all the way up through 12th grade on how to react to these things. State laws require that we do at least two lockdown drills a year, our district requires that we do four lockdowns a year," adds Leon.

The Police Department and School Security say they work closely together to ensure that all the schools in the grand valley are safe.

Kate Porras said, "Having officers in and around schools whenever possible. Having security measures in place so that the school staff knows exactly what to do if they see someone suspicious around the school and then extra measures to make it so its hard to even get into the schools right now."

"One of the things that we work on with our schools is being very diligent about minimizing the number of entry points that we have available for the community to enter. Run, hide and remain hidden until someone comes and lets you out," said Leon.

Police say tragedies like this only bolster their department to make sure a crisis won't happen here on the western slope.

"It's a horrible situation, and people around here in our department are angry, they're sad, they're horrified and it just strengthens our resolve to do everything we can to keep our kids safe," adds Porras.