UTEP campus (File)

EL PASO (August 14, 2012)—Officers were practicing a response to a simulated gunman in an exercise Tuesday on the campus of the University of Texas at El Paso.

UTEP spokeswoman Veronique Masterson said campus and El Paso city police responded to the call Tuesday morning.

She said it’s the second time UTEP has performed such a drill.

The last time was about three years ago.

Masterson said this drill has been planned since last December and was unrelated to recent shootings elsewhere.

The exercise happens a day after a gunman opened fire near the Texas A&M University campus in College Station killing a constable and a bystander and wounding several others.

Masterson said the exercise is part of a series of routine drills the university does to prepare for emergency situations.