Indian Land High will host first responders for active shooter drill Tuesday
Lancaster County law enforcement and emergency response groups will prepare Tuesday for something they’ll never want to see happen.
They also want to warn a public what’s happening Tuesday is just a drill.
Indian Land High School on U.S. 521, or Charlotte Highway, will host an active shooter training Tuesday and Thursday. The Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office will join county EMS, fire and rescue, coroner, emergency management, public safety communications, school and recreation department staff for the follow-up to a three-day course in May.
The scenarios at Indian Land High on Tuesday will include simulated gunfire, loud noises and visible activity from emergency responders. No live rounds will be shot. Volunteers will perform civilian roles in training. Different scenarios Tuesday morning and afternoon will be repeated on Thursday.
Training runs 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days. The school campus will not be open to the public those days. The school is in a highly visible area and vehicles will be staged at several areas around the school, so authorities want the public know in advance there’s no need to call 911.
Signs will be posted to alert people in the area of the training.Traffic disruptions aren’t planned.
“I hope and pray every day we will never be dispatched to an active shooter event like the many that have occurred nationwide in recent weeks and months,” Sheriff Barry Faile said in a news release. “On the other hand, our officers and the many agencies who would respond must be prepared, and we all spend lots of time training for events like this.”
The training comes at a time of continued public interest involving law enforcement response to school shootings, after the May shooting of students and staff at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas. A shooter there killed 19 children and two teachers.
Active shooter response and similar training scenarios have become common in recent years, often at large venues including schools. On July 18 York Comprehensive High School hosted an event where SWAT team members with the York County Sheriff’s Office trained.
Jonathan Phipps, superintendent of the Lancaster County School District, said his district is thankful for area law enforcement.
“Our first priority is to keep our students and staff safe,” Phipps said.
