It’s every parent and teacher’s worst nightmare — a gunman opening fire in school.

While such a tragedy has never happened in Haywood County schools, local school leaders are taking steps to make sure teachers know how to react in the event of a shooting.

During a presentation by Clyde Police Chief Gerard Ball Wednesday, principals, school resource officers and school leaders discussed scenarios of what could happen.

Although police departments have policies in place to handle active shooters in public places such as schools, sometimes the majority of damage is done before law enforcement can even make it to the scene, Ball said.

That’s what happened Dec. 14, when it only took the shooter one minute and 23 seconds to kill 27 people at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newton, Connecticut.