GWU Crisis Training
The realism of Thursday's crisis training at Gardner Webb University didn't really set in until I heard gunfire down the hallway at the GWU Football Center.
They were blanks but I still jumped. And, though surrounded by officers from Boiling Springs and university police, I wasn't the only one to do so.
The four-hour session, which reinforced what most of them already know when it came to searching buildings for gunmen, is held yearly. But it's even more timely this year, coming just 10 days after the mass killing at Virginia Tech.
Various scenarios were held - a lone shooter ... two shooters ... a shooter and a victim ... a shooter attempting suicide - to give as close to a real life situation as possible.
After speaking with the officers and watching the scenarios unfold over the course of the day, I eventually found myself a participant.
Standing in the breezeway of the football center, yards away from the field, I was handed a BB gun and jacket to protect me from the BB assault that would be waiting for me inside.
A group of us would go in together. I would be the second man and would immediately cover the left corner of the room while the first man covered the right.
Our bodies ducked down, we rushed inside the room with our guns drawn. No shooter. At least none that was obvious.
Then the gunfire came from the right back corner. But, with my face covered in a protective mask, I couldn't even tell there was anyone there.
The scenario was over and I didn't get one shot off. On the plus side, I wasn't shot either.
Round 2
Same plan, I cut to the left, the first man cut to the right. A victim lay near the doorway.
The gunfire came faster this time and it seemed I fired a couple dozen rounds at the shooter hiding underneath a chair. The gun locked up a few times, with me having to snap it back in place before returning fire.
Again, I wasn't hit. But it got my heart pumping to be in that situation.
"Graham, what did you think about that, buddy?" asked GWU Police Chief Barry Johnson.
"It was fun," I replied, my heart beating fast.
But I'd hate to do it for real.
They were blanks but I still jumped. And, though surrounded by officers from Boiling Springs and university police, I wasn't the only one to do so.
The four-hour session, which reinforced what most of them already know when it came to searching buildings for gunmen, is held yearly. But it's even more timely this year, coming just 10 days after the mass killing at Virginia Tech.
Various scenarios were held - a lone shooter ... two shooters ... a shooter and a victim ... a shooter attempting suicide - to give as close to a real life situation as possible.
After speaking with the officers and watching the scenarios unfold over the course of the day, I eventually found myself a participant.
Standing in the breezeway of the football center, yards away from the field, I was handed a BB gun and jacket to protect me from the BB assault that would be waiting for me inside.
A group of us would go in together. I would be the second man and would immediately cover the left corner of the room while the first man covered the right.
Our bodies ducked down, we rushed inside the room with our guns drawn. No shooter. At least none that was obvious.
Then the gunfire came from the right back corner. But, with my face covered in a protective mask, I couldn't even tell there was anyone there.
The scenario was over and I didn't get one shot off. On the plus side, I wasn't shot either.
Round 2
Same plan, I cut to the left, the first man cut to the right. A victim lay near the doorway.
The gunfire came faster this time and it seemed I fired a couple dozen rounds at the shooter hiding underneath a chair. The gun locked up a few times, with me having to snap it back in place before returning fire.
Again, I wasn't hit. But it got my heart pumping to be in that situation.
"Graham, what did you think about that, buddy?" asked GWU Police Chief Barry Johnson.
"It was fun," I replied, my heart beating fast.
But I'd hate to do it for real.
Photo captions: 1) BS Officer David Humphries instructs BS Officer Jose Lopez after a scenario; 2) A group of officers search the breezeway for a shooter; 3) Humphries targets a shooter on the third floor of the football center; 4) Officers go over a scenario; 5) Officers wait to go through a scenario; 6) BS Police Chief Marty Thomas looks for a shooter after finding a victim; 7) Humphries instructs the officers after a scenario where the shooter was on the stairwell; 8) Officers handcuff a shooter as Humphries looks on; 9) GWU Officer Barry Lane plays the role of a suicidal shooter; 10) Two officers wearing protective masks engage a shooter in the hallway
posted by Graham at
6:14 PM
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