The Stamford Police Department hosted multiple informational sessions about school safety Wednesday.

The focus of the sessions is how to reduce the risk of school violence, including active shooter situations.

School staff members, Board of Education members and Mayor Caroline Simmons attended the forums.

Stamford Police Sgt. Brendan Phillips says it's important to notice early warning signs.

"Usually there's an escalation in behavior. Starts off with some small things, some unaired grievances where {students} may not feel like they're being heard," Phillips says. "If they're having a bad day and they express that, and we don't give them the help they need, those kind of manifest. So it's super important to catch these early and give students the help they need."

Phillips says the department has trained for active school shooter situations for more than a decade.

"We push all of our tactics and training from specialized units down to our patrol division to the men and women on the street who are the first ones to respond," Phillips says.

Phillips stresses it takes an entire community to prevent a tragedy.

"This is something that needs to be discussed," Phillips says. "The only way to prevent it is through discussion and awareness."

An additional forum for Stamford parents will be held Wednesday at 6 p.m. on Zoom. Click here to join.