Active shooter training held at school

At? the sound of gunshots, a group of seven adults sitting in a classroom at Flathead High School sprang from their seats and began shoving tables in front of the door, turning off lights and cinching an extension cord around the door handle, then drawing it back, so the armed intruder couldn’t pull it open.

At least that’s what it seemed like.

The simulated scenario was one of many held as part of the first “active resistance” training at Flathead. About 70 educators and first responders from around the Flathead Valley took part in the two-day training led by the Safariland Group with assistance from local law enforcement agencies and the U.S. Army Reserve Monday and Tuesday.

Before the scenarios began Tuesday, participants were taught to assess their surroundings and make split-second decisions while improvising with objects found in a room to either barricade a door, break through a window or use as a weapon.

Edgerton Elementary Assistant Principal Jen Stein helped pull the extension cord around the door handle along with three other people, which was a challenge under the cover of darkness.

“I think what it does is it gives you the confidence and some skills — and kind of the permission to do what you need to do to protect kids, so if somebody’s at the door with a gun you’re going to do everything you can to stop it,” Stein said.

Many schools have lockdown procedures, which consist of locking the door, hiding and waiting for police to arrive. Active resistance training is meant to buy time and save lives until police arrive.

Instructors drove home a “run, lock, fight” method.

“What we’re trying to do is present more options than that [simple lockdown] and challenge you to think outside the box in some of these situations,” said Staff Sgt. Justin Lee, an instructor from the Army National Guard.

The active resistance training could be a game changer in assessing current school procedures according to Flathead Principal Peter Fusaro.

“Before, you pretty much had one option. Lock your door; turn your lights off; get the kids in there,” Fusaro said. “You can still do that but now we’re barricading, planning escape routes [like] windows. If it comes to it — fight. We’re not going to be sitting ducks. We’re going to defend ourselves.”

Training is meant to get participants more reactive in making and acting on split-second decisions, said Brian Heino, patrol commander for the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office.

The importance of teaching participants simple techniques and improvisation is critical as people’s bodies are reacting mentally and physically to a crisis such as a school shooting, which can happen in a matter of three to five minutes, according Sandy Wall, director of training for Safariland. In one scenario, however, participants learned that a crisis can take mere seconds.

From start to finish, one scenario took 30 seconds even after participants were lobbed a curveball in the form of a wounded victim. After hearing the gun discharge, participants who ran to shut the door were surprised when a wounded victim fell at their feet.

Thinking quickly, Lori Hafer, food services director at Kalispell Public Schools reached for the door handle while Carol Venegas, a secretary at Bigfork Public Schools and Edgerton teacher Suzanne Elliott grabbed the victim’s arms, dragging him inside and away from the door.

In one of the final simulations, teachers and administrators had only one option — fight back.

The group of teachers and administrators were asked to pretend to decorate the hallway when a gunshot could be heard from their left. But an armed intruder, holding a plastic gun, came charging toward them from around a stairwell corner on their right.

While some participants looked left to the sound of the gunshot, others turned their attention to the intruder who was blocking their nearest exit.

Members of the group lunged forward, grabbing the intruder around his neck, his waist, pulling down his arms and tackling him to the ground with everyone piling on top.

Options such as running don’t make sense in this situation, said Travis Smith, a detective with the Flathead County Sheriff’s Department.

“If you were to turn and run down the hallway you are just sitting ducks inside a hallway and he’s got a rifle, so no matter how fast you run, his bullets are going to hit you,” Smith said. “Everyone has to make this decision for themselves. You have to decide at what point you’re going to take the fight to the battle.”

“Now you’ve seen you’re capable.”

In a post-Columbine High School and Sandy Hook Elementary world, should the role of a teacher be one of educator and defender?

Stein said she was in college when the Columbine school shooting happened in 1999, and she thinks teachers go into the profession with the understanding that children are under their protection during the school day.

“I think every teacher goes into teaching [knowing they have] to protect their kids,” Stein said, but added, “I don’t ever think they ever thought it would be because of gun violence.”

Glacier High School teacher Sarah Conner agreed that she saw her role as both educator and protector. Conner said the active resistance training solidified that.

“I knew we always had that role, but I didn’t always know how to follow through with it,” Conner said.

How to barricade a door to fight an armed intruder was eye-opening, Conner said, yet the running aspect is something she wrestles with.

“In the foyer there, that was my sole problem. When I heard the gunshots, do I actually run or do I get all the kids out first? They were telling me, ‘No, run,’” Conner said. “Number one they said, ‘You’re no good to them dead. Number two, If you run they’ll follow you because you are the leader and they’ll know what to do. Also, yelling ‘Get out of the building there’s a gun’ ” will help students to understand the situation.

“That makes it a little easier to take.”

And as with all training, practice makes perfect.

“I’m going to go back to my classroom and practice, practice, practice,” Conner said.

After training concluded, Terry Nichols, a master instructor with Safariland, said the point of training was to “prepare not scare.”

“This is meant to empower you,” Nichols said.

Hilary Matheson is a reporter for The Daily Inter Lake. She may be reached at 758-4431 or hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com.