First responders, student volunteers participate in ‘active shooter exercise’

In a back room at the Grant Sawyer Building early Wednesday evening, about 30 high school students from Veterans Tribute Career and Technical Academy sat down as goopy, fake red blood was blotched onto their faces and worn-out T-shirts.

Together, they got ready to play dead.

The students were volunteers in an “active shooter exercise” the Nevada Department of Public Safety planned at the state office building, located at 555 E. Washington Ave. The demonstration was a practice round for emergency responders confronted with an active shooter situation, and agencies including the Metropolitan Police Department, the FBI and the Gaming Control Board participated.

It started with a shooter — an actor — firing off fake rounds that echoed throughout the building. The student volunteers then screamed and fell to the floor, and seconds later, a group of about seven first responders stormed the building, working to isolate and take down the shooter.

After that, medics responded to triage the volunteer victims.

The process repeated, with different agencies and different groups of volunteers. At the end, everyone gathered for a debriefing to address what was done well and what needed improvement.

The Wednesday exercise was one of the largest ever conducted in Nevada. First responders had practiced at the Riviera last year, and a year before that, another exercise was hosted inside a large terminal closed off to the public at McCarran International Airport.

Department of Public Safety spokesman Dave Gibson said the purpose of the exercise is to be more proactive in active shooter situations. He said agencies have gathered for these demonstrations for years in the past, clarifying that there was no single event or moment that pushed agencies to practice more.

“It’s not really learning; it’s practice,” Gibson said, adding that the realistic demonstration — even down to the fake blood — helped law enforcement hone their skills and response tactics.

“Whenever you make it realistic, you really get to see how people respond,” he said. “The more realistic we can get it, the better.”

The Department of Public Safety also offers similar classes to civilian employees twice a year, Gibson said — one at the capitol building in Carson City and the other at the Grant Sawyer Building, where police practiced Wednesday.

“Unfortunately the reason that we’re doing it is because (active shooter situations) happen throughout the country, and it’s happened here before as well,” Gibson said.

Contact Rachel Crosby at rcrosby@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5290. Find @rachelacrosby on Twitter.