Active shooter training held at local university
MARTIN, Tenn. — A drill mimicking real-life experiences took place on Thursday at a local campus.
*Some of the images in this story may be disturbing to some*
The University of Tennessee at Martin’s campus welcomed community members and various safety departments, including fire departments and medics, to be a part of active shooter training on Thursday.
“This particular scenario, we have an active shooter that’s going to be here on campus, which is going to cause a patient surge at the hospital,” said Ray Wiggington, the Director of the Weakley County Emergency Management Agency.
During the training, community participants acted as victims and some were dressed up in makeup and wounds in order to play their part.
“I actually have head trauma. I was hit the back of the head. So I have the bruising of the face to show that I have some head trauma. And then I have a laceration here, so I had direct contact with the assailant coming through,” said Robbie Petty, a training participant.
“I’ve got a laceration on my arm also, and I have a protruding bone on my other arm,” said Katie Witherspoon, a training participant.
Officers could be seen on campus preparing for the encounter of taking down the threat in the training.
Blanks could be heard firing throughout the building as the drill shooters searched the building, leaving victims behind during the small window of time before the police were expected to arrive.
The exercise took place on three floors, and victims were spread through the halls, stairs, and classrooms.
“They want us to portray a real scenario, so they’re wanting us to act a little crazy. So we’re kind of excited about that. They get to act a little out of key, I guess,” Petty said.
Officers came in and found the threat and completed the drill.
Not only was this a new experience for most of the drill victims, but some got a new ride as well.
“It will actually be my first ambulance ride. So that’s going to be pretty interesting for me,” Witherspoon said.
The participants gladly recommended this activity for those interested as drills come about, though drills this big are normally one to two times a year, according to Wigginton.
“You learn stuff you didn’t know. And it’s kind of practice for in case something like that really happen,” said Christi Smith, a training participant.
The drill ran multiple scenarios before leaving for the nearby hospitals. Local clinics also took part by completing lockdown drills.
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