Police and EMT’s converged on the College of Western Idaho campus in Nampa tonight to train for an active shooter situation.
While tonight’s training was a drill it was designed to duplicate the danger, fear and chaos a school shooting can create. A mass shooting is not something a manual can prepare officers for and Nampa Police and other agencies know, we’re not immune to them.
"That can happen in San Bernardino, Aurora, Colorado and Nampa, Idaho. So we're always on top of that to keep our skills sharp," said Lt. Joe Ramirez of the Nampa Police Department.
That’s what this training is all about at the CWI campus just across the street from the Idaho Center.
"It's a joint training and it's based on a scenario of an active shooter type of incident," Lt. Ramirez said.
"In sports, you train like you play, and that's true for law enforcement, which is why this is especially realistic."
Actors inside the campus building are made up with fake injuries and pleading for help.
"You're not expecting to step over role players laying on the ground screaming for help. You're having to walk past, and we're trained to help people, now you have an active shooter and more people might be hurt if you don't deal with the threat."
Lt. Ramirez says 40 percent of mass shootings in the U.S. between 2000 and 2013 happened in school settings.
“That's why we partner with CWI,” Lt. Ramirez said. ”It helps their people learn as well as ours."
