Hiding Out...
Pretty much sums up what I spent the morning doing-in that case hiding under a desk in the Legal Records office at Superior Court. Superior Court, Pima County Sheriff's Department, Tucson Police Department and the Tucson Fire Department participated in a joint agency emergency Active Shooter exercise-the first large scale exercise of it's type to be done in our county. I was one of the volunteers who was placed in a court office to act as a victim. Each volunteer was assigned a location and given information as to how to act in the scenario. Some victims would be dead and others injured to varying degrees. They were given training cards with information for the first responders to use in triaging them, since we were not using makeup in this exercise. Everyone was given a safety briefing and issued eye and hearing protection. The firearms used in the training exercise were real firearms that were modified to shoot Simmuniton rounds-ammunition rounds that leave a dye mark on surfaces that are hit, but will not penetrate human flesh. They do produce the same sound as lethal ammunition, so they are very realistic.
Where I was, we could't see the action but we certainly heard it. After the announcement on the public address system that the exercise was starting, we heard several gunshots and a lot of commotion and shouting. Then the alarms went off. There were three shooters, one on each floor of the courthouse being used for the exercise. A hostage standoff occurred on the third floor and most of the casualties were on the first and second floor. Some of the folks with cell phones called the emergency number that was provided to us at the briefing and provided information to the police and fire dispatchers, such as location of trapped persons. We simply remained in place and followed the instructions of the responding officers. Once the building was cleared of threats, we were evacuated to the triage area and cleared there. After the exercise was completed, everyone was gathered for a debriefing.
I must admit that it seemed very strange, hiding in the workplace and seeing police officers armed with semi-automatic rifles walking through our work area. Walking out of the work area and past fallen co-workers who had been shot added a good deal of realism. In the next couple of years, there will be additional Active Shooter exercises on larger scales at the courthouse. During the debriefing, there were some areas identified that issues arose. Some participants had questions about perceived delays in responding to the injured. The agents provided good informational answers-mainly that the job of the initial responding officers is to immediately locate the gunmen and neutralize them. In some cases, medics can enter areas while the law enforcement response is going on, as long as those areas have been cleared by law enforcement of threats. Example: there were three floors involved in the exercise. Third floor was the last cleared due to a hostage situation. While that was being addressed, medics and law enforcement on the lower floors had begun evacuating victims, since the gunmen on those floors were down.
Overall, the exercise went well. The two gunmen on the first and second floors were taken out very quickly. One of the armed court security officers took out the gunman on the first floor and Sheriff's deputies took out the second floor gunman very quickly. The third floor was secured reasonably quickly, given the scenario being conducted there. The exercise was good training for everyone involved. As a court employee, it gives me confidence in our security team and a realistic experience that has taught me what type of emergency response to expect should I ever end up in an Active Shooter incident-at work or anywhere else.
Where I was, we could't see the action but we certainly heard it. After the announcement on the public address system that the exercise was starting, we heard several gunshots and a lot of commotion and shouting. Then the alarms went off. There were three shooters, one on each floor of the courthouse being used for the exercise. A hostage standoff occurred on the third floor and most of the casualties were on the first and second floor. Some of the folks with cell phones called the emergency number that was provided to us at the briefing and provided information to the police and fire dispatchers, such as location of trapped persons. We simply remained in place and followed the instructions of the responding officers. Once the building was cleared of threats, we were evacuated to the triage area and cleared there. After the exercise was completed, everyone was gathered for a debriefing.
I must admit that it seemed very strange, hiding in the workplace and seeing police officers armed with semi-automatic rifles walking through our work area. Walking out of the work area and past fallen co-workers who had been shot added a good deal of realism. In the next couple of years, there will be additional Active Shooter exercises on larger scales at the courthouse. During the debriefing, there were some areas identified that issues arose. Some participants had questions about perceived delays in responding to the injured. The agents provided good informational answers-mainly that the job of the initial responding officers is to immediately locate the gunmen and neutralize them. In some cases, medics can enter areas while the law enforcement response is going on, as long as those areas have been cleared by law enforcement of threats. Example: there were three floors involved in the exercise. Third floor was the last cleared due to a hostage situation. While that was being addressed, medics and law enforcement on the lower floors had begun evacuating victims, since the gunmen on those floors were down.
Overall, the exercise went well. The two gunmen on the first and second floors were taken out very quickly. One of the armed court security officers took out the gunman on the first floor and Sheriff's deputies took out the second floor gunman very quickly. The third floor was secured reasonably quickly, given the scenario being conducted there. The exercise was good training for everyone involved. As a court employee, it gives me confidence in our security team and a realistic experience that has taught me what type of emergency response to expect should I ever end up in an Active Shooter incident-at work or anywhere else.