Last Friday, local law enforcement officers conducted school shooting discussions and exercises for the staff.
An uncanny bang reverberated off the walls of Eastern Regional High School’s Gym 4.
The sinister sound sparked a sweep of gasps from nearly 200 high school staff members.
The simulated scenario, performed by the Voorhees Township Police Department and sheriffs from the Camden County emergency response team, provoked a feeling that every person in the room never wanted to experience again.
That was the very objective of the afternoon’s presentation.
Although the Feb. 14 mass shooting in Parkland, Fla., coupled with Eastern’s own alleged threat that unfolded around the same time, has heightened the community’s attention to such disasters, the VTPD has been planning a day to educate the educators on this topic since the fall.
“It’s important to know we’re not doing this because of the incident. It’s been planned six months ago,” VTPD Capt. Carmen Del Palazzo said.
In the fall, the department pitched the training to take place during a staff inservice day. After the board of education approved the idea, plans were underway.
The premise of the presentation was for Eastern staff members to not solely learn but also experience the horrific encounter of an active school shooter, prompting both a sound recognition and identification exercise during the session.
“We’re trying to get this out-of-the-box training,” Del Palazzo said. “All the teachers do their normal lockdowns, but I wanted to create something where they see things from our point of view. I tried to incorporate our mindset into it.”
The source of the eerie sound was an assault rifle, which was slipped into the gym by a Camden County officer impersonating a shooter. After the officer escaped, staff members were asked to describe the man’s appearance.
Often amid active shootings, witnesses are under such distress that they struggle to relay a suspect’s characteristics to officials.
“Overall, the №1 thing is that they know what a gunshot sounds like indoors — just to pay attention and be a little more aware,” said William Westerby, the school safety and security administrator, and anti-bullying coordinator. “The most important thing in this presentation was the identification — how important it is to get that accurate. If they walk away with those two things, then mission accomplished.”
Before this portion of the training, Del Palazzo presented an overview of the various aspects encompassed with active shootings, delving into the discussion through different lenses, such as historical and psychological.
He described active shooter/killers as, “one or more persons believed to be armed with a weapon. They’re threatening or using deadly force, and they have unrestricted access to more victims.”
He told the crowd in preparing for a shooting, key components include situational awareness and a shifted mindset, as denying that such a disaster could ever happen in Voorhees is not a solution.
In the event of an attack, contact teams arrive to the scene of a shooting, and they have a few main objectives, one of which requires stopping the killer with arrest, containment or the use of deadly force, which is then followed by aiding victims and preserving the crime scene.
In containing the force, and in due course minimizing casualties, teachers are encouraged to remain in the classrooms with the doors locked in the event of an emergency. This will not only prevent shooters from finding more victims, but also allows law enforcement clearer access to the killer, as innocent people could be flooding out of rooms.
“If we lock in and keep (shooters) from getting in rooms and keep them into that fatal funnel, which I know how to tack, and hopefully they don’t … it’s easier for us to find and locate that person,” said Charles Seixas, a Camden County sheriff and member of the county emergency response team.
Since teachers are most equipped on the layout of classrooms, they should engage in “simple fixes,” like adjusting filing cabinets to create a nook, which could fit multiple students out of plain sight.
The officers said, if a shooting is taking place, the SROs on site should already be moving in on the situation, but teachers can contact police if they are in a secure setting.
“If you’re able to safely call and give information, please do so,” Del Palazzo said. “This is very valuable.”
The staff responded with various thoughts, like who can declare lockdowns over the intercom and how teachers would differentiate an officer pulling at a locked door as opposed to a shooter.
The idea of shootings during lunch time was also brought up, as Del Palazzo said several things still linger in a “gray area” that need to be determined with the Eastern administration.
This is one concept of several that require future planning between the district and police department.
But, for now, the goal for both school and law enforcement is stay prepared and alert.
“This information is not intended to scare you or make you paranoid,” Del Palazzo told the crowd. “I am not paranoid. No one here is paranoid, but we have a plan. We’re prepared…We don’t choose the moment, it chooses us — so be prepared.”
