Police hold active-shooter training at Shadow Hills High School
The Indio Police Department conducted an active shooter training drill at Shadow Hills High School Friday.
The drill includes training for police and fire personnel, along with school staff and some students. It will simulate a real active shooter situation, including simulated gunshots, smoke and fire alarms, to induce the stress and circumstances helping prepare reactions and muscle memory in case the real thing ever does occur. IPD issued out a warning in order to avoid alarming residents.
“(Students) think, ‘Oh, this is never going to happen to us,’ but they’re never really sure when and what is going to happen,” said Annaid Rodriguez, a Shadow Hills High School senior. She was a volunteer at the training session.
“It does prepare you because it’s giving you a real life situation, like this can actually happen,” Rodriguez said. “You need to be prepared, you need to be calm.”
Chief Mike Washburn of Indio Police Department stressed the importance of making the simulation as realistic as possible.
“We’re doing some things today that are gonna create some stress, some confusion,” Washburn said. “There will be a lot of noise in the environment that’s really going to create a level of stress that we need in them – as they’re going to experience in a real life situation.”
Judy Gadd, a health teacher at Shadow Hills, hopes the training will ease students’ anxieties about an active shooter situation.
“I think they feel like, ‘Okay, I feel more empowered now about what I could do if the circumstance were to happen,'” Gadd said. “And talk about how scary it can be. Because it is.”
She is trained to follow pre-planned procedures in case of an emergency.
“We make sure the door is locked at the front and there is no access point. Lights are out. We make sure all cellphones are turned off,” Gadd said. “Preparation is key and I think when you have preparation, you have reduced fear, and students know what to expect, as do teachers.”
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