How Active Shooter Training Saved Lives in Colleyville, Texas Standoff

Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker thought it was just another Saturday of worship.

When he first met the man who held him and three others hostage for 11 hours, he welcomed the stranger in from the cold and gave him tea.

The encounter became life-threatening a few minutes later.

During the livestream of the service that turned into a hostage situation, the shooter said he had chosen the synagogue in Colleyville because it was closest to the Dallas-Fort Worth airport.

The rabbi says the security training he's received over the past several years saved his life and the lives of his fellow hostages, according to CNN.

Why Everyone Needs Active Shooter Training

You just never know when you will be involved in a deadly situation.

The FBI defines an active shooter as an individual 'actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a populated area', like schools, churches, or public events.

Cytron-Walker says after hours of waiting for the right moment, he hit the shooter with a chair so that he and the others could escape.

Run, Hide, Fight

When faced with an active shooter, security experts say you should first try to escape the area if you can.

If that's not an option, protect yourself by hiding as well as possible.

As a last resort, you can take a stand against the gunman and fight to stay alive.

Public Safety Resources

If you see something, say something. It's important for everyone to stay alert, especially considering the history of gun violence in Central Texas.

According to Gun Violence Archive, mass shootings went up 65% in Texas last year.

Three of the deadliest shootings in Texas history happened in Killeen, including the Luby's massacre in 1991.

The iWatchTexas program is a partnership between communities and law enforcement and uses citizen-sourced tips on suspicious activity to stop potential criminal acts, including active shooters.