Written by Amanda Coers – In a scenario utilizing elements from recent school shooter events, local law enforcement trained for the unthinkable on Tuesday at the Brownwood High School. BISD personnel and volunteers participated in the wide-ranging Emergency Response Drill in conjunction with the Brownwood Police Department and Emergency Response teams. The drill was staged at the Brownwood High School and involved numerous law enforcement, emergency response, and BISD personnel and vehicles. Training teams offered a school shooter scenario which portrayed a student crashing their car into the school and several students injured or killed.

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In July of 2017, a similar exercise was conducted at the Brownwood Middle School. Back again was Northeast Regional ALERRT Manager and instructor Coby Briehn to walk officers through the chaos of a shooting incident inside a school.

The Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training (ALERRT) Center at Texas State University was created in 2002 as a partnership between Texas State University, the San Marcos, Texas Police Department and the Hays County, Texas Sheriff’s Office to address the need for active shooter response training for first responders. In 2013, ALERRT at Texas State was named the National Standard in Active Shooter Response Training by the FBI. To date, more than 130,000 law enforcement and fire officials across the nation have been trained in ALERRT operations and tactics to respond to active shooter situations.

“Again this year, BISD is grateful for the cooperation of Chief Terry Nichols and our law enforcement, emergency response, and BRMC community in working with us to ensure the success of our safety protocols,” Brownwood ISD Superintendent Joe Young said. “This is rich training ground for us, as our number one goal is the safety and security of all within BISD, students and staff alike. The cooperation of these groups is vital to our success in that effort, and we could not be more grateful for their willingness and cooperation.”

After the completion of the training exercise at the high school, law enforcement and first responders gathered at the First United Methodist Church to discuss the chain of events and evaluate their response.

In the exercise, the first officer on scene was shot, similar to what happened in the May 2018 shooting incident at Santa Fe, Texas. One of the officers, identified as John Barnes, was the first person to engage the 17-year-old suspect. Barnes was shot in the process. Ten people were killed in a shooting at Santa Fe High School.

During the training exercise in Brownwood, the first officer arriving was shot and needed medical attention, further adding to the chaos inside the school hallways.

Officers arriving on the scene had to contend with multiple students who were injured or killed in several different areas of the school, dividing their attention. The shooter was found in one of the classrooms and “shot” by the officers, who then administered first aid care to both the shooter and the victims inside the room.

According to statistics posted on CNN, by May 2018 there have been 23 school shootings where someone was hurt or killed. That averages out to more than 1 shooting a week.

Law enforcement training has rapidly evolved with the rise of school shootings. In decades past, officers first on the scene would secure the building and wait for tactical teams to arrive. Today there is no waiting. Officers are trained to enter the scene immediately, locate and stop the shooter, and then administer some fundamental first aid before emergency medical services are then escorted into a secured area.

To see more photos from the training exercise visit our Facebook Page.

School district officials and personnel are also constantly fine-tuning their own response to coordinate with law enforcement for the safety of their students. BISD Superintendent Joe Young and the Brownwood High School Principal Mitch Moore were on site Tuesday to facilitate a school lock down, transportation for uninjured students, and reunification with parents at a safe location.

Additional training for both the school district and local law enforcement and first responders is already being planned. One of many items on the list to improve was speedier transport for the injured.

“If it was one of your family members would you like to see them out of that classroom faster?” Brownwood Police Chief Terry Nichols asked participants during a review of the exercise. Several voiced “yes,” while all nodded.

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