Preparing for the unexpected – that's what North Richland Hills law enforcement and school officials were doing Wednesday morning as they hosted a full-scale mass casualty training exercise.
The training event took place at Richland High School, where an active shooter situation was simulated on the campus.
Police and school district leaders know that unfortunately, active shooter situations are something too many are all too familiar with.
“We all agree that school safety is number one priority. And for us to continue to keep our students safe and for staff to do what we do on a daily basis, it takes a village,” said Dr. Gayle Stinson, Birdville ISD Superintendent.
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In the simulated active shooter scenario, a shooting was reported at the school. Within seconds, that message started playing on speakers across the entire campus.
Then within minutes, police officers responded to secure the scene, followed by medical teams.
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In the scenario, the shooter was killed by law enforcement. However, officers practiced going room to room checking for injured and deceased.
Even in the training exercise, officers were using anything they could to safely get the injured outside such as office chairs.
Hundreds of people – including first responders from 32 agencies and school district staff acting the role of students – all played a part in this simulated active shooter situation.
Law enforcement spent the past eight months planning out the details.
“Rare is the case that we get all these organizations to come together in one big event and test what it is that we’re doing and how we work together and where our strengths are and where our challenges are,” said Chief Mike Young of North Richland Hills Police.
Meantime, observers were on site to take notes including city leaders and police chiefs from other areas who were learning from this experience and providing feedback.
Birdville ISD also practiced the reunification process with school buses.
“Today is about taking that information, digesting it, and learning from it so that we can be as prepared as possible for something that we hope never happen,” said Stinson.
