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More than 100 police and firefighters train for active shooter incident in Laguna Beach

LAGUNA BEACH — For Jonathan Burke, it felt real as he crouched in a corner of the library at Laguna College of Art and Design.
“I was really upset,” said Burke, president of the college. “There were a lot of gunshots even though they were blanks. People were screaming and really crying. It was interesting, the emotions that came up were real.”
Burke was among more than 100 people from LCAD and the local Community Emergency Response Team who on Wednesday, Jan. 10, hid on campus during a mock active shooter rampage. As those portraying victims sought shelter, police officers from Laguna Beach, Newport Beach, Costa Mesa, Irvine and UC Irvine moved in, searching for the shooter.
Multiple law enforcement agencies go through an active-shooter drill at Laguna College of Art and Design on Wednesday, Jan 10, 2018 where employees and students of the school played bloody victims. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)Employees and students at Laguna College of Art and Design simulate victims in an active shooter drill on Wednesday, Jan 10, 2018. About 100 people took part with drones recording the exercises for evaluation by tactical specialists. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)An officer looks through an upstairs window of Laguna College of Art and Design during an active-shooter drill in Laguna Beach on Wednesday, Jan 10, 2018. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)The “suspect” is taken into custody during an active-shooter drill in Laguna Beach on Wednesday, Jan 10, 2018. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)Multiple law enforcement agencies go through an active-shooter drill at Laguna College of Art and Design on Wednesday, Jan 10, 2018 where employees and students of the school played bloody victims. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)Employees and students at Laguna College of Art and Design simulate victims in an active shooter drill on Wednesday, Jan 10, 2018. About 100 people took part with drones recording the exercises for evaluation by tactical specialists. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)Show Caption of Expand
The purpose of the drill — which included about 60 police officers, 30 firefighters, as well as dispatchers and incident commanders — was to test inter-agency capabilities and the readiness of first responders.
The exercise, which took a year to plan, was coordinated by Laguna Beach police Chief Laura Farinella, included agencies that in a real emergency would be called to assist Laguna Beach police. The drill was funded by a $100,000 grant from the Urban Area Working Group and is one of five multi-agency exercises that will be held across the county this year.
Participating first responders were given only a few facts about the shooter and then asked to respond instantly to locate him and diffuse the threat, explained Laguna Beach police Capt. Jeff Calvert, who led the exercise.
Wednesday’s scenario was based on the fictional story of a disgruntled 40-year-old man with a fixation on LCAD and its students, Calvert said. Details included that the man had been seen on the campus located off Laguna Canyon Road near Laguna Coast Wilderness Park.
“He had posted threats on social media and had been seen by police in town a few days before,” Calvert said. “Police were put on the lookout and on Wednesday were told that the shooter had made entrance on campus and was actively shooting at students and staff.”
Calvert said the training is critical for learning tactics identified by law enforcement after the Columbine High School massacre in 1999, where officers waited on the perimeter for SWAT to arrive.
“Thirteen people died that day,” he said of the victims. “Now first responders show up on scene and immediately move toward the gunfire to isolate and neutralize the subject. Law enforcement has gone to this because minutes and seconds matter. What officers are doing now is counter-intuitive. It’s difficult for them to enter places and not offer assistance to victims.”
According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, from 2000 to 2013 there were nearly 12 active shootings a year in the U.S. From 2013 to 2016, the number of active shooters increased to 20 a year.
“Not only have the incidents increased but causalities have also increased,” Calvert said.
The way firefighters respond has also changed since Columbine. Instead of hanging back in a safe area, firefighters on Wednesday moved in alongside police officers who protected them as they carried out victims.
“You can’t sit on the outside while people are dying,” Calvert said.
Laguna Beach Officer Brandon Drake was among those taking part in the exercise.
“I was part of the first wave going in,” he said. “You want to help people who are crying for help but you also want to keep calm amid the chaos. If you let your emotions in, it makes the job difficult. When there is an active shooter, you have to engage that threat.”
Laguna Beach City Manager John Pietig watched the exercise. He commended his department’s command staff and the college for helping facilitate the training.
“Though it’s rare, the unfortunate reality is that we must plan for it,” he said.
For Burke, who has been at the college’s helm for six years and on campus as a teacher and administrator for 38 years, Wednesday’s drill was eye-opening.
“I think it’s important we can understand what could happen,” he said. “We live in an insecure world. Even though we have a director of security, this helps us create a safer campus in an already safe town.”
Source: Oc Register

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