Published: April 13, 2008 09:05 pm         

Law enforcers train for campus shootings

EDMOND, Okla. — Shots rang through the halls of the College of Business Administration at the University of Central Oklahoma as law enforcers trained to respond to a shooter on a school campus.

The scenario was part of the National Security Summit through Monday. Victims ran and screamed as a man carrying a shotgun shot at people in halls and classrooms during the simulation.

“I don’t think anyone wants to imagine that something like Northern Illinois University or Virginia Tech can happen here,” said Jeff Harp, UCO director of public safety. “The reality is that it can happen anywhere and we want to be prepared.”

Gary Perkinson, special agent for the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, said in the past a perimeter would be set up around a building and they would wait for a SWAT team to arrive. That could take, he said, 45 minutes to an hour, which left injured victims bleeding.

Perkinson said the new approach is to train local law enforcers as first responders.

“Hopefully, they would be able to get to the shooter in few minutes,” he said.

The first rescue team also would be able to get to injured victims sooner, Perkinson said.

Bob Horn, OSBI agent in charge, said two teams are sent into a school when there is a threat on campus. The contact team locates the suspect while the rescue team gets victims out of the building.

“The only duty of the contact team is to locate and stop the threat,” Horn said.

During a debriefing after the simulation, several participants were concerned that several teams passed them by before a rescue team arrived.

Horn told participants that the contact team enters the building first to locate the shooter and prevent more shootings.

“This is the worst-case scenario. It’s like a murder in progress. It’s hard to do anything when you’re being shot at,” he said.

Horn told law enforcers that saving lives is most important.

“If you go after the shooter you can save people from getting shot,” he said.



Courtney Bryce writes for The Edmond (Okla.) Sun.