"Provide the best security:" Carroll University, Waukesha PD train for mass casualty shooting
Mass casualty training at Carroll University
WAUKESHA -- It's something no one at a university wants to think about: a mass shooting. Carroll University officials partnered with local law enforcement and volunteers for an extensive training drill on Thursday, July 20th.
Law enforcement called it a success because their teams worked quickly, took out the mock shooter, and saved people as quickly as possible. Officials said they've trained for situations like this before, and while the carnage was fake in this case, the pressure and confusion were real.
Mass casualty training at Carroll University
Mass casualty training at Carroll University
Early Thursday morning, the call came in: a shooter was spotted on campus. Shots were fired, fatalities were mounting and the gunmen were on the move.
"How would we get to that location as fast as we can do that, and provide the best security for them, and getting them back out to that medical attention they might need?" said Captain Ron Oremus, Waukesha Police Department.
Ron Oremus
Inside the music hall at Carroll University, local police agencies, campus security and emergency response crews practiced a call they hope to never get.
"Public Safety as well as staff and faculty are collaborating with the Waukesha police and fire departments to work on a mass causality critical incident training," said Kevin Kober, Carroll University.
Law enforcement participating in the drill, complete with fake injuries and hurt students said they needed to accomplish the following goals: set up a command post to deal with the threat, eliminate the shooters, and then save those who were injured.
Mass casualty training at Carroll University
Mass casualty training at Carroll University
"It's impossible to predict every situation. It's impossible to know exactly how people are going to act because in times of stress, oftentimes people will do and react differently," said Oremus.
At the end of the drill, crews met to discuss how things went, and where they can improve.
"We try to prepare people for a lot of different types of scenarios, try and prepare them for what happens in the real world in hopes that preparation nothing will ever happen, but if it does our people are ready to go," said Kober.
Law enforcement, as well as Carroll University officials, saidthey teach this to everyone: what to do if you find yourself in a situation like the mass shootings they've been training to stop. There are three options: run, hide and fight. When applied in that order, law enforcement officials said it can save your life.
Mass casualty training at Carroll University