Stephens SO and Toccoa PD to Conduct Active Shooter Training Next Month

The Stephens County Sheriff’s Office in partnership with the Toccoa Police Department will be practicing saving lives in high-risk scenarios at an active shooter response training from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. July 12th, and on July 14th. T

The training will be located on the campus of Stephens County Middle School according to Sheriff Randy Shirley.

During the training exercises at SCMS, emergency vehicles will be parked near the school and senior center.

According to the Sheriff’s Office Training Coordinator Lieutenant Stephen Stewart, residents and those who may be passing by the SCMS located on Rose Lane, may hear law enforcement firing blank and paint rounds, which replicate the sound of gunfire and mark officers’ targets with paint.

In a simulated active shooter scenario, law enforcement officers will search a building, move in formation, enter a crisis site and isolate a “shooter,” according to the “Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training” website.

Sheriff Shirley said ALERRT’s basic training program allows officers to implement a consistent response to mass casualty events across the nation.

Learning advanced techniques from the program ensures local law enforcement agencies are successful in deescalating these situations, and it reassures community members that they are making every effort to train officers to the best of their ability.

Sheriff Shirley went on to say that mass casualty events were traditionally handled by Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) teams, but agencies are now training line-level patrol officers to enter these high-risk situations, regardless of their assignment.

As the culture of America has changed in a dramatic fashion over the past few years, law enforcement instructors have had to modify course curricula involving active shooter/mass casualty incidents.

Although the active shooter exercises were scheduled several months in advance, their preparation is significant in light of the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas last month.

The shooting on May 24th at Robb Elementary was carried out by an 18-year-old gunman who killed 19 children and two school teachers.