Chris Conley, who teaches reading and writing at Ivy Tech, listens to IU police officers critique his performance during his turn with the Firearms Training Simulator Thursday. Conley made the correct decision not to shoot the man wielding a knife. Staff photo by Jeremy Hogan.

Numerous criminals — and some innocent bystanders — were shot over a two-day period this week.

Fortunately, the victims were only characters in a police firearms training simulation held on the Ivy Tech campus.

The simulation allows a participant to watch a live-action crime situation and react to different scenarios, while armed with either a 12-gauge shotgun or a Glock 9 mm handgun.

The Firearms Training Simulator was provided by the Indiana University Police Department, which uses the device twice annually to help officers maintain their decision-making skills.

Users got to select their weapon and go through the 15-minute long session, which took participants from a routine traffic stop to walking in on a drug deal.

In one scenario, the participant walks into a bank and into the middle of an armed robbery.

The suspect grabs a customer and holds her at gunpoint, forcing the participant to either shoot the suspect or try to end the hold-off peacefully.

"Drop the gun!" the suspect shouts. "Drop it or I'll kill her!"

Participants have a split-second to decide what to do.

Police officers from the Indiana University Police Department were on hand to discuss reactions the participants made. If a shot was fired, the FTS system maps where each shot went on the screen.

The training helps foster participants' decision-making process, Ivy Tech criminal justice chairman Gary Dunn said.

About 75 people participated in the sessions, which continue today until noon.

Reporter James Boyd can be reached at 331-4370 or by e-mail at jboyd@heraldt.com.