North Dakota teachers, law enforcement, and first responders train response for school shootings - KFYR

UNDERWOOD, N.D. (KFYR) - School shootings are no longer uncommon, isolated incidents in the United States, so law enforcement, emergency responders and schools train to react to the chaos an event like that can cause. At Underwood School, law enforcement, emergency responders, and actors have come together to keep communities safe.

Chaos inside Underwood School Wednesday... but it’s only acting. The high-stress scene is for law enforcement and first responder training. The scenario: an active school shooter and resulting chaos.

“We try to make it as realistic as possible. You know because you get your mind in the mode of the training and take it for the realism that’s intended, you can garner a lot from it,” said Lt. Rick Richard, support services commander for McLean County Sheriff’s Department.

The “victims” in the scenario are real students and teachers in Underwood.

“I am an injured teacher. I have a wound on my leg. We have some that have gunshot wounds. We’re just walking around the school trying to get the attention of cops,” said Nicole Heinitz, sixth-grade teacher/actor participant.

The actors were provided details on their injuries that were not previously disclosed to responders. Most of them haven’t done anything like this before.

“This is a more intensive and hands-on activity,” said Heinitz.

But law enforcement and first responders drill with these life-like scenarios as often as possible. Different departments work together to aid “victims.” They say this training is especially important in smaller communities.

“Especially in a small town, there’s a lot of EMS and fire that have full-time jobs. And when you have more than two or three victims, our staff, in general, is run short so we have to call out other departments from surrounding areas,” said Brianna Robinson, Underwood Elementary secretary/EMT squad leader for Underwood Ambulance.

The actors say they’re also learning from the experience.

“This training is going to be really helpful for staff and students, as well for us as teachers to talk to those students about what to do if something like this happens so that everybody is a lot more calm if a situation like this were to arise,” said Heinitz.

As the scenario winds down and the “victims” are transported, it’s time to assess the response.

“I think they went into it with a serious approach that it should have. And I think everything went admirably well from my perspective. Of course, we will have things pointed out that we could do better, but that’s all the time, and we strive for the ongoing process of perfection,” said Lt. Richard.

Plans are in place to continue these simulations in schools across the district.

The training was funded through a grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. It was issued through the ND Department of Emergency Services and implemented by the McLean County Office of Emergency Management.

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source: https://www.kfyrtv.com/2022/04/28/north-dakota-teachers-law-enforcement-first-responders-train-response-school-shootings/

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