It is about 10:00 a.m. on a beautiful day in Morro Bay as one of three on-duty police officers quietly patrol Main Street. The peaceful atmosphere is suddenly shattered by the tense, but controlled voice of the police dispatcher —
"Attention Morro Bay units, we are receiving numerous 9-1-1 calls reporting gunshots being fired at Morro Bay High School. Gunshots can be heard in the background as witnesses call in. Units respond Code-3!"
In rapid succession, the dispatcher comes back on the radio,
"I am receiving reports of several injured students lying on the floor in the main building adjacent to the office; the gunshots are continuing!"
Without hesitation, an officer activates his emergency lights and siren and responds to what could be the challenge of his career. The officer is aware of his sergeant and the other on-duty officer responding with him. The officer hears the sergeant, over the wail of his siren, requesting mutual aid from surrounding police agencies. The sergeant also requests the fire department and at least three ambulances stage at a designated secure location. The sergeant is told the nearest assisting mutual aid unit is 10 to 15 minutes away.
An officer arrives at the high school along with the other responding officer. They hear gunshots and see terrified students, some covered with blood, running out of the main classroom building. The two officers, one with a patrol rifle and one with a shotgun, run towards the area and as they run, they are quickly formulating a plan. The sergeant arrives, but must maintain his supervisory overview and coordinate the arrival of assistance. He sets up a command post at a near-by location.
The two officers, racing to the front of the building are stunned and overwhelmed by the visual and audible stimulus. Students are screaming and the school's fire alarm is almost drowning out the sound of the continuing gunshots. The officers do not hesitate as they enter the same dimly lit doorway from which the panicky students and teachers are fleeing. The two officers remain close together as their tactical training kicks in and they rapidly approach the room where the gunman continues his carnage.
Columbine Shooting
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This sets up the scene for the Morro Bay Police Department's recent "Active Shooter" training. Ever since the 1999 Columbine High School Massacre in Colorado, law enforcement professionals have had to re-think their training and response to these incidents. When I was a new cop, it was simple. If such a thing occurred, we were trained to encircle the area, contain it and wait for our Special Weapons & Tactics Team to arrive and enter. All the while, the carnage could be continuing. Now, law enforcement officers are being trained to formulate a plan in seconds and enter with the resources they have. Any hesitation could result in more casualties. And, so it was on this day of our training at the Morro Bay High School.
The training is intense, with fire alarms sounding and screaming role-players acting as terrified students and teachers. There is a great deal of visual and audio stimuli hitting the officers as they proceed through their training of ending an "Active Shooting" incident.
Adding realism to our training, we use modified versions of the pistols and rifles we carry on duty. These training weapons are distinctively marked for safety and altered so they will not accept normal ammunition. The training weapons fire what are called "Simunition marking rounds." The training weapons simulate full recoil with reduced-pressure / reduced-velocity rounds. The Simunition projectile is filled with a detergent-based, water-soluble colored marking compound, similar to a paintball. The projectile breaks upon impact, marking the target and allowing trainers to assess the accuracy and lethality of the hits. The participants wear face, eye and neck protection, helmets, groin protection, and gloves (two or more layers of clothing is suggested).
I have experienced many things in my 30-year career, but never an active shooter at a school. This ongoing training prepares officers for the potential of such an event and will hopefully reduce or eliminate a very tragic ending.
