(WINSTON-SALEM) -- A training exercise scheduled for Thursday on the campus of Winston-Salem Sate University will feature over one hundred mutli-agency first responders from across North Carolina. The public safety course is called "Mass Shootings: Planning and Response".

August Vernon with Forsyth County Emergency Management said it is an opportunity for all emergency responders and crisis officials in North Carolina to get on the same page. "The course is designed for law enforcement, EMS, fire departments, emergency management and school and college officials.  It just talks about what kind of threats are out there, what's happened in the past, how do we prepare and plan for those and how do we actually respond if and when it happens," said Vernon.

Vernon added that the course is in response to incidents like the Tucson Arizona shootings, and in recent years, at locations such as Virginia Tech, Columbine and Fort Hood. He said it is important to bring all the agencies together not only to discuss and plan for such shootings, should they occur, but the training can be used in other potential disaster situations as well.

(Thanks to: WSJS)