Chaos broke out at Laguna Creek High School last Wednesday morning. Law enforcement officers arrived in waves on the Elk Grove campus to the sounds of gunfire and explosions. A Sacramento County Sheriff's Department helicopter hovered overhead as students lay on the ground and screamed for help. A SWAT team stormed into a classroom, brought out a man and released 30 people. A police spokesman reported the toll: three dead and 29 injured.
The event last week wasn't real. It was, however, the largest simulated exercise of its kind ever in Sacramento County, involving more than 20 agencies. The daylong drill covered what would be involved in a real-life situation.
"We need to be prepared when something like this happens," said Assistant Elk Grove Police Chief Ed Kelly.
Police officers and firefighters who would be first-responders to a school shooting converged on the campus, which was not in session because students were on spring break. The incident command center, complete with adults playing reporters pushing public officials for information, was at the Barbara Morse Wackford Aquatic and Community Complex. Harriet G. Eddy Middle School served as a reunification center for the volunteers playing parents and students. More than 700 volunteers took part.
Organizers say having different departments training together helps test their readiness and improves their preparation in case a school shooting occurs. The recent shooting rampages at Northern Illinois University and Virginia Tech illustrate why such simulations are needed, said Elk Grove Unified Superintendent Steven Ladd.
"Nowhere, no place is immune," Ladd said.
Such training has become even more critical since the 1999 shooting at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo. Before Columbine, the first officers on the scene would wait for backup before proceeding. Since then, officers have been trained to act immediately if students are in danger.
"We need to go neutralize the threat," said Lilia Alonso, a school resource officer with the Sacramento Police Department who participated in the exercise. "It's our responsibility now. We can't wait."
In the Eddy gymnasium, volunteers portraying worried parents waited to find out what was happening. Some sat on bleachers while others paced or gathered around officials, asking, "Are the buses coming?"
Robyn Wallace played a parent with two sons at Laguna Creek – one injured, one still on campus. She said she actually got upset when she was taken aside and informed about her "injured" son.
"I never expected it," said Wallace, a teacher at Raymond Case Elementary School.
Officers wore uniforms complete with bulletproof vests. They carried modified weapons firing soap pellets that sting on impact, said Christopher Trim, Elk Grove police spokesman.
Trim said the three gunmen were all law enforcement officers, while the hostages were adult volunteers and students from Explorer programs.
Participating agencies included the Elk Grove, Sacramento, Galt, Folsom, Rancho Cordova and West Sacramento police departments; Sacramento Regional Office of Homeland Security; Sacramento County Sheriff's Department; Federal Bureau of Investigation; the California Highway Patrol; and Elk Grove Unified School District. The Cosumnes Community Services District Fire Department and Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District also took part.
Call The Bee's Sandy Louey, (916) 478-2654.
