New England’s first active shooter training facility coming to Connecticut

BRISTOL, Conn. (WTNH) — Connecticut lawmakers are working to ensure first responders are prepared for active shooter situations, beginning with $3.15 million in federal funding that was announced Tuesday.

“Even though we don’t have a building and a facility, we have vision,” U.S. Rep. John Larson (D, CT-1) said.

The funding will support the construction of a two-story active shooter training facility in Bristol, equipped with a 50-yard indoor police firing range and other mentoring and training opportunities.

“It is a critical need, because these types of facilities don’t currently exist,” Bristol Mayor Ellen Zoppo-Sassu (D) said.

The facility will be the first active shooter training center for officers in New England. It was the brainchild of Bristol Fire Chief Richard Hart and police officer Alec Iurato.

Iurato was shot on Oct. 12, 2022, along with Sgt. Alex Hamzy and Lt. Dustin Demonte, who were killed in an ambush before Iurato was able to take down the suspect.

Officer Iurato and the Bristol Police Department had active shooter training earlier that same day, and he credits it to saving his life.

“In one of the scenarios, it just so happened to be that I had a gunshot wound to my right leg, as a role-play,” Iurato said. “Detective Kevin Monaghan was with me and what ended up happening [was] we got exalt out of the room and I was complaining about the gunshot wound to my right leg. Not 11 hours later that thing actually happened to me. I experienced multiple gunshot wounds to my right leg and detective Kevin Monaghan put a tourniquet on my right leg to save my life. Not many people know that.”

The building will feature an active shooter range and a fire range, and will look like a school, with movable panels so they can re-create any type of classroom or business to keep the officers fresh.

“We want to continue to change that to throw our people off, to throw our officers off and our fire department personnel so that they are the best that they can possibly be,” Iurato said. “And they can deal with problems as they come to them.”

Officials are still trying to determine where in Bristol the facility will be built and an opening date has not been announced.