Eighteen people attended last week’s final day of the Run, Hide, Defend Program.

Run, Hide, Defend is a training program taught to students, staff and faculty to help prepare for a situation in which there is an assailant on campus.

Two police officers, Officer James Thurber and Officer Dominic Gamboa, taught these workshops at De Anza last week.

According to an email from Thurber, total overall attendance to the program at De Anza was approximately 595 people over the span of 11 workshops.

As stated in a previous article of De Anza La Voz, in the “Defend” category, “Ideally, there is a way for students to escape while others stay behind and attack the shooter with classroom objects like tables, chairs and fire extinguishers.”

Thurber clarified this, saying that all training tips were instructed with discretion: proceed with cautious vigilance.

“Defending is an all hands involved situation and if one is planning on fleeing during a defend action, it’s important that they understand that they may run out and into other dangers, or not be there for that extra set of hands which may be needed,” he said in an email.

Thurber also said that the district has plans to continue to offer the Run, Hide, Defend training throughout each quarter and when a group need arises.

“As with any program rollout, it takes time to amass the numbers,” he said. “We would rather have two students show up then none. That’s two more people who can react properly in an emergency.”