Suburban Cops Run School Shooting Drill To Prepare For The Worst
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Would your child know what to do in a school emergency? Would you know how to react? The village of Homewood on Tuesday held a critical incident drill to help everyone prepare.
Around 9 a.m., dozens of police officers from Homewood and surrounding communities took part in a mock school shooting emergency at Winston Churchill School in Homewood.
Police descended on the school from every direction, with guns drawn, after dispatchers reported there were two active shooters inside the building.
In addition to guns, the mock shooters were also armed with pipe bombs. So the first officers to respond aggressively headed into the school with a single goal in mind – to do what they can to avoid a repeat of shooting massacres like the 1999 Columbine High School shooting in Colorado.
"Back when Columbine started, the police officers did what they were trained to do; and that was set up a perimeter, and secure the scene. Today, we don't do that. The first officers on the scene go in and go after an active shooter until that threat is neutralized," said Homewood Police Deputy Chief Denise McGrath.
In the mock incident, police "killed" one shooter and "arrested" the other.
At least one student was "killed" and several others were "injured" before police arrived at the school.
Many others were safely evacuated out the back of the building by responding police officers.
Officials said they obviously hope to never have to employ such training, but they also said it's absolutely crucial to always prepare for the worst.