Active Shooter Drill Is Conducted

“All clear” are the words one would like to hear during any emergency situation which may involve an active shooter…or active anything.

Last Wednesday, the Jasper County Sheriff‘s Office (JCSO) in partner with five other organizations, four local and one state, to stage an active shooter drill at Jasper County High School.

The drill couldn’t come at a better time with the start of the new school year in Jasper County happening this week and year round safety on everyone’s mind. Largely populated areas are often targets of shooters, unfortunately schools often fall into that category.

The joint active shooter training exercise was a cooperative effort between the Jasper County Charter School (JCCS) System, JCSO, Jasper County Fire, Emergency Management Services (EMS), 911 Dispatch, Jasper Memorial Hospital and Georgia Emergency Management Agency (GEMA). JCSO

Sheriff Donnie Pope noted that the training was planned in a series of meetings over the summer by representatives from each of the participating agencies.

With new teacher orientation and employee work days in session, school employees system wide were part of the exercise. The school staff were given the roll of students with one teacher per class. Each class was assigned a classroom on one hallway and told to conduct class as normal.

The drill began that afternoon when two simulated shooters entered the building and began firing multiple blanks throughout the school. The shooters simulated a mass shooting event while looking for staff outside their designated rooms and checking for open and unlocked doors in an attempt to gain access into occupied rooms.

The school staff and first responders were given no specifics about the drill prior to its start contributing to the authenticity of their response.

Once the simulated shooters entered the building and began firing, a call was placed to dispatch who then began gathering information and sending simulated responding units to the desiganted area of the school. Law enforcement officers were then randomly identified in the staging area as the first arriving units and sent into the school three minutes after dispatch with the specific task of locating and eliminating the threat/threats. Both threats were eliminated after a simulated gun battle in under two minutes, said Sheriff Pope.

Next, EMTs and paramedics, escorted by additional law enforcement entered the building and began to treat 10 simulated victims still in the “hot zone” (a semi secure area that has not been cleared of all potential threats.) Many of those simulated victims were “transported” to Jasper Memorial Hospital where hospital staff continued the drill by allocating resources to treat multiple victims related to a mass shooting.

Once hallways were secured by eliminating the shooters, classrooms were evacuated and once concluded staff members were released to continue their day.

The exercise concluded with four large scale de-briefings, one at each of the four JCCS schools, where discussion was had about general observations and ideas. Administrators from the school as well as members of the JCSO were on hand to answer questions.

“Overall, I am very pleased with the exercise. A successful training is not measured by things going perfect. Success is found in recognizing mistakes and identifying what you can do better,” said the Sheriff.

“In the scenario of a school shooting, you will never reach perfection. There will always be room for improvement. But, to find and eliminate two shooters in less than two minutes is outstanding.” He continued, “And for school staff to be able to hear, recognize and react to gunfire is invaluable. The quicker the situation can be identified, the more lives that will be saved.”

“I appreciate all the hard work that went into making this training possible. The school, First Responders and Jasper Memorial should be commended for their efforts and working relationship to serve and protect our children and our community!”

“The drill provided all participants a better understanding of their role in this type of situation,” said JCCS Safety Director Matt Tumlin. “We are grateful our community partners can come together to foster opportunities in order for our staff to gain a better understanding for this type of event.