State Police Host Regional Drill To Prepare For What Many Fear — A School Shooting Incident

ELLINGTON, CT — On Friday morning, state police hosted a series of drills that prepared law enforcement officers from around the region for something truly feared in every community — an active shooter situation inside a school building.

The drills were staged at Ellington High School.

The strategy, state police said, is multi-layered — locate the trouble and neutralize the threat, isolate the situation, secure the area, identify victims and begin medical triage and then set up a safe entrance and exit pathway for emergency personnel.

The training is both realistic (yes guns with blanks are used, along with a "bad guy" and "victims") and intense (with strict review sessions following every drill).

Here's how one scenario played out:

Someone in full camo gear had broken into the school building and shot six people. Two were critically wounded and the other four could not stand up on their own.

A call immediately went out and police arrived in a short time and entered the building. They headed for the identified trouble spot. Police quickly encountered the shooter and fatally shot the person.

A victim in the hallway was then attended to.

All victims were eventually tended to in a classroom while officers secured and isolated the area.

EMS crews then entered the building once an entrance and exit pathway was established with an armed escort.

Victims were then removed to waiting ambulances.

After each drill, officers and troopers gathered to review what transpired and discuss how they responded.