No first responder wants to go on a call about a gun at school, but Newton County first responders are going to be ready regardless.
At Union High School, which was closed for Fall Break Wednesday, members of Union Police Department and Newton County Special Response Team held an Active Shooter Drill to simulate a school shooting situation.
Starting off at 8:30 a.m. by a few volunteer high school students tossing firecrackers to simulate gunshots, police and swat officers practiced entering and clearing the school building, while other officers hid inside pretending to be the shooters and Union Public School District staff took the place of students.
By the time the last shooter was in custody, law enforcement officials were already reviewing each moment of the training to make sure they were as safe and efficient as possible.
“You hate training for something like that, but if it happens, we’ll be ready,” said Joedy Pennington, commander of the Newton County SRT team.
However, Wednesday’s training paid off as both Pennington and UPSD superintendent Tyler Hansford reported positive feedback from the officers involved.
“We were real pleased with the way it turned out,” Hansford said. “I got down to debrief with the law enforcement and they were very happy. They said it was a very safe school.”
All of the law enforcement agencies participating in the active shooter training coordinated well and completed their objectives, Pennington reported.
“It went very well,” he said. “All the departments worked well together. That’s why we train, to do the best we can, to train ever officer, teacher and student what to do if there is ever an active shooter.”
Pennington said training helps officers and departments identify areas where they can improve to maximize their own safety and the safety of others. Wednesday’s training, he said, was invaluable for what it taught both the school staff and the law enforcement officers about how to respond in an active shooter situation.
From the school side, Hansford said the training was “very humbling.”
“The ability to practice something like that, not that you ever want it to happen, the experience was invaluable,” he said.
Hansford said USD is grateful to the first responders who agreed to participate in the active shooter training to make Union High School as safe as possible for the students and staff that attend each year.
