Active shooter –– two words that fill people with dread. Combine that with a school setting, and the risk of panicked frenzy and chaos can exacerbate an already terrifying scenario.
This is the situation that school faculty and police are working together to avoid.
On Monday, several Kane Borough police officers and Pennsylvania state troopers gathered at Kane Area Middle School to undergo training exercises and simulate a situation with an active shooter.
While faculty from the Kane Area School District did not take part in the active shooter training, Trooper First Class Bruce Morris gave faculty a presentation about dealing with a situation with an active shooter.
Morris taught staff a number of skills including how to stay calm, how to keep kids safe and what to do should a teacher come face to face with an attacker.
“Run, hide and fight.” These were the words Morris instilled into the minds of faculty in attendance of a presentation prior to state police starting their training.
“Do whatever you have to do. The rulebook is out the window,” Morris added, explaining the approach faculty should take in the event of an active shooter.
He added, “It’s better to be judged by twelve than to be carried by six. At least then you can explain yourself and your actions.”
Morris repeatedly stressed that faculty should pay close attention to students and how they act.
“You guys probably spend more time with kids than their parents,” he said. “You guys see the change.”
One of the key points in Morris’ presentation was to look for indicators that a person may be planning to attack –– such as being bullied, social media posts, and signs of an abusive home life.
Morris also explained that an active shooter may not be a student, but could possibly be a teacher.
Three officers from Kane Borough Police Department and 24 state troopers from all seven stations in Troop C attended the training, according to Cpl. Lance Schimp. He explained that troopers train academically and in simulations.
“Troopers receive both classroom and practical instruction from the State Police Special Emergency Response Team. After troopers complete the instructional period several scenarios are run with live role players,” Schimp said. “To aid in realism, firearms that fire blank rounds are used along with Simunitions which fire marking rounds. The goal is to provide officers with an overview of active shooter protocol, contingencies, tactical formations, and give them the opportunity to practice the same in realistic scenarios.”
All in all, Schimp said that the training went well and that those who took part in training learned a lot.
“The training exercise as a whole was a success and ran smoothly from start to finish,” Schimp explained. “These exercises give us the opportunity to determine our preparedness, assess weaknesses, and develop future trainings.”
Schimp added, “all of the officers take this subject matter extremely seriously,” and said those who participate in the training sessions are “always enthusiastic” about doing so.
“We thank Kane School District for giving us the opportunity to use their facility as a training site,” he said.
