ONLY A DRILL: Philadelphia Police Hold Training Exercise Tonight In Old City
By Dan Wing and Diana Rocco
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The Philadelphia Police Department and other area first responders conducted a training drill Wednesday evening near Independence Mall.
They announced the drill so that people were not alarmed if they saw a large number of officers or emergency vehicles in the area.
Police moved in to the Independence Visitor Center on Independence Mall for a gunman on the loose but this was just a drill. An active shooter drill, Philadelphia Police worked with parks and fire departments simulating a shooter in the building.
"Certainly we never hope to have an emergency here at the Visitor Center but it's always a possibility," said Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Joe Sullivan.
More than 100 police officers trained with fake bullets trying to find and immobilize the shooter hidden somewhere inside.
Then fire department acted as medics transporting the wounded out of the building, necessary coordination with the big events on the calendar later this year.
The Pope is expected to bring more than a million people to the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in September and the Democratic National Convention in 2016. Police say they need to be prepared should the worst happen.
"The city of Philadelphia will be in the world spotlight and that's why it's important that our training and our capabilities and our equipment also be on the cutting edge," said Sullivan.
