It might look real, but the active shooter drill at a school next week won’t be
Two days before students fill the hallways of Jeffersonville Elementary School for their first day back from summer vacation, teachers and staff will prepare for a day they hope never comes.
On Monday morning, the Twiggs County Sheriff’s Office will run an active shooter drill at the school to simulate what might happen in case of a shooting on campus.
“I’m of the belief it’s not a matter of if, just only where and when,” said Sheriff Darren Mitchum. “You know, we need to train and be prepared for it and have a response plan rolled out with the staff at the schools and my officers and other agencies that would work hand in hand if we’re unfortunate and have one of those events happen. ”
Mitchum said his department has developed several possible plans for an active shooter situation, and the drill will allow law enforcement officers to test out what works well and what doesn’t.
After the training, the sheriff’s office will debrief with school faculty and staff to get their feedback. Mitchum and schools Superintendent Elgin Dixon met several times over the past few weeks to discuss the training, and both felt it would be helpful for school employees to know what to do in case of an emergency situation.
“We thought this was an excellent opportunity for us to work together to have procedures and protocols put in place as part of our emergency preparedness and security plan,” Dixon said.
No students will be present for the drill, but Mitchum said the sheriff’s office might have another training with students in the future, if the school board is interested.
The drill will begin around 9 a.m. Monday and will last four to five hours. Mitchum said the training will involve role-playing and warned that it might look like a real shooting to onlookers passing by on Bullard Road.
“In light of everything that’s going on in our world ... you can never be prepared enough,” Dixon said.
Samantha Max is a Report for America corps member and reports for The Telegraph with support from the News/CoLab at Arizona State University. Follow her on Facebook at facebook.com/samantha.max.9 and on Twitter @samanthaellimax. Learn more about Report for America at www.reportforamerica.org.