SPIRIT LAKE, Idaho. – Pretend screams of volunteer victims filled the parking lot at Timberlake High School Wednesday as multiple Kootenai County first responders came together to train for a very real active shooter situation.
“What we conducted here today was one of the most comprehensive active shooter situations that this county has ever seen,” Kootenai County Sheriff Robert ‘Bob’ Norris said.
Wednesday’s active shooter training felt real and sounded real, because training as if it is real, is the only way to be ready if it were.
On hand Wednesday were volunteers providing intense acting, whether they be screaming out in pain, holding bandages to their head, cradling an injured leg, or nursing a gunshot wound. Plus, many law enforcement agencies and first responders. Here’s a list of who took part:
Coeur d’Alene Fire Department, Coeur d’Alene School District, FBI, Idaho Office of Emergency Management, Idaho Office of School Safety and Security, Idaho State Police, Kootenai County Office of Emergency Management, Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office, Lakeland School District, Northern Lakes Fire District, Post Falls Police Department, Rathdrum Police Department, Spirit Lake Fire Protection District, Spirit Lake Police Department, Timberlake Fire Protection District, and Real Life Ministries.
Real Life Ministries was included by being the point of pick-up for parents to get their kids, after they were taken away from Timberlake High School during the drill.
First responders trained during this drill the exact way they would respond to a real threat. Kootenai County Sheriff Robert ‘Bob’ Norris said during a real threat, Kootenai County’s plan is to go to the source of gunfire as soon as possible, no matter how many responding officers are on scene.
“The quicker we engage the subject, the less people die, the less people get injured,” Sheriff Norris said. “It could be one deputy, it could be two deputies, could be one deputy and a parent picking up a child.”
When it came down to it, Sheriff Norris said if a civilian knew how to shoot a gun and they were willing to help, he and his team would accept that help. He said it could be like giving a shotgun to a janitor.
“Absolutely we would do that,” Sheriff Norris said.
Wednesday’s demonstration paints a picture of a very real situation that America tragically faces every single year. But it hasn’t always been like this.
“We have certain threats in this country today that we didn’t have three years ago, that we didn’t have 13 years ago,” the sheriff said.
And someone who knows that well is Lakeland School District’s Superintendent Lisa Arnold.
“We do an emergency drill in our district in every school every month,” Arnold said. “We do it because not only do we want the adults to respond in a timely manner and appropriately, but we also need our kids to do the same.”
Arnold has been an educator for 33 years. The fact that this type of emergency drill is a part of her district’s monthly routine is enough to break a heart. When asked if she thought something like this would be happening when she started her career three decades ago, Arnold’s reply was quick.
“No. I was an elementary principal when Sandy Hook happened and that really was the first time for elementary parents that the threat became real,” she said. “This has always been, since Columbine really, something that has been heavy on my heart and definitely a very intentional part of who I am as an educator.”
Arnold said her teachers will not be armed in school, but they are trained to fight in other ways if they met an active shooter. Also, something that is non-negotiable is keeping every single classroom locked, all the time. The idea here is an active shooter is not going to waste time trying to get inside a locked room.
“Shooters know they’re on the clock once the shooting starts and they’re looking for easy they’re not looking for hard,” Arnold said.
In a real lockdown, Arnold said students across the district are taught to go into any open classroom and teachers are taught to make sure that door is locked. The room goes dark and quiet. If teachers believe the safer option is to run, they run.
“No community is immune from anything like this, so we have to train for this event and many other events that we don’t want to happen here,” Sheriff Norris said.
To stay informed on real potential threats, you can sign up for Alert! Kootenai County on the sheriff’s office website. To do that, click here.
