Last Monday at 9:10 a.m. in Olscamp Hall, University police and several other law enforcement agencies prepared for a situation they hope to never see – nearly 20 victims fighting for their lives at the hands of a shooter on campus.
The active shooter drill was held while students were on winter break as to not cause alarm, but the drill itself was realistic. The drill tested how fast the University Police Department and other surrounding agencies could respond and how well they could communicate with each other.
According to a statement issued by Marketing and Communications, ‘the threat of violence on college campuses has become a very valid issue in recent years. This exercise is designed to be as real as possible to help BGSU and the area community better prepare for emergency crisis situations.’
During the drill, the police ran through three different scenarios of a shooter. The gunman’s capture was different in each scenario: in one case, the gunman was shot by police; in another, critically injured; and in the third, the shooter was taken into custody.
Along with the gunman, three victims were ‘killed,’ an officer was shot and 18 others were injured.
‘Simunition’ or fake weaponry was used during the morning drills. Paintballs were fired rather than blanks and fake blood bags were attached to the victims, Director of Public Safety James Wiegand said.
Over 100 volunteers were called to help with the activities playing the roles of victims, media and other distractions the police could possibly face while trying to secure the area.
Adam Ramos, 14, played the role of a young victim shot in the left shoulder. He was told to yell for help and tell those responding what was going on inside.
‘It was pretty scary being involved in something like this, because it actually could happen here,’ Ramos said.
Gaynelle Predmore, a Jerome Library associate, said after the Virginia Tech shootings and other such incidents in recent years, she didn’t hesitate to answer the call for volunteers because she works on campus.
‘You never know what could happen’ she said after being ‘shot’ through the leg.
Following the exercises, an initial critique was given, Wiegand said. A full report of the drills won’t be issued for several weeks, and although the critique was fairly positive, there were still some flaws.
For instance, the Alert BG text messages regarding the drills were sent roughly 45 minutes after police originally responded, but an e-mail was sent out in roughly 30 minutes.
The University had planned on using a new method to send the text messages, Wiegand said, but it was not yet installed and they had to revert to the old method.
Ohio Highway Patrol Superintendent Col. Richard Collins said despite the kinks in the system, it is still good to practice these drills because this could happen on any college campus.
‘In today’s world you just never know,’ he said. ‘So you need to do the preparation work to hopefully respond in an appropriate manner.
WHO WAS INVOLVED?
BGSU Police Department Bowling Green City Police Bowling Green Fire Department Wood County Sheriff Wood County Emergency Management Agency Ohio State Highway Patrol Northwood Police Department and other surrounding police jurisdictions American Red Cross of Wood County Wood County Hospital, where approximately 25 victims with simulated injuries were transported
