The horror that occurred Friday at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut is unthinkable. Yet we can't get it off of our minds. We'll keep you continuously updated here as the investigation unfolds.

What would Tyler police do in a similar situation?

Police departments have to prepare for the unthinkable tragedies and what ifs, just in case something like that were to happen here. Schools also have lockdown procedures in place and practice those drills.

Tyler police have practiced their response to a hypothetical school shooting. The Tyler Morning Telegraph reports Tyler police train with drills several times a year, and the first officers on the scene would not hesitate to enter the school building. That's something learned after Columbine.

In addition, schools have emergency plans in place that they hope they never have to use. There are stories emerging now about the heroic efforts of teachers at Connecticut's Sandy Hook Elementary, and how they locked the doors after hearing gunshots, pulled students out of the hallways, and rushed their students into closets and bathrooms. Twenty students died, but countless other lives were saved.

We have suggestions here on the website about how to talk to your children about what happened in Connecticut. That's another big storyline coming from yesterday's awful news.

As President Obama said yesterday, hug your kids a little bit tighter this weekend. Thoughts and prayers are with the families who lost them.

More From Mix 93.1