As school administrators, teachers and staff geared up for the return of the district's school children, the Douglas County Sheriff's Office conducted training in an empty quadrant of Pau-Wa-Lu Middle School.
Student volunteers screamed and moaned with mock injuries. The sound of gunfire from simulated ammunition boomed off classroom walls. Officers barked orders as footsteps pounded down the empty hallways.
Every couple of years, the sheriff's office conducts what's called an "active gunman" drill, teaching personnel how to respond to a school shooting.
"It's the biggest nightmare in the world," said Douglas County Sheriff Ron Pierini. "We just hold our breath during the school year hoping nothing will happen."
After the 1999 school shootings at Columbine High School and this year's slaughter at Virginia Tech, law enforcement officials recognized that hope is not enough to save lives.
"One thing we found in law enforcement - unfortunately, the hard way - when a shooting occurs, protocol dictated that the SWAT team responded. They have the tools, the knowledge and training and hopefully can defuse the situation in a safe manner," Pierini said.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfpdaTkLTBw
"We have to train law enforcement officers on the street to respond and defuse the situation immediately. When a person in a school is shooting, killing and harming people, you can't wait for an hour for the SWAT team to respond."
This year, the exercise was supervised by Sgt. Dan Britton and other members of the sheriff's office Special Weapons And Tactics team.
Training was held for all deputies at Pau-Wa-Lu Middle School in early August.
The training involved classroom instruction followed by mock scenarios in the empty hallways of Pau-Wa-Lu.
With the help of volunteers from the sheriff's office Explorer Post, teams re-enacted what officers might find when they arrive on scene.
Britton cautioned the officers to remain in the school for the training.
"No guns outside," he said. "We don't want to start a panic."
Explorers played their parts screaming and running through the hallways.
Ordered to the ground, the students yelled and moaned as if injured.
"Help me, help me. Where are the paramedics? Where's the rescue team?"
Pierini said officers are trained that their priority is to find and stop the shooter even if it means bypassing the injured.
Explorers had protective headgear which made it difficult for the officers to tell the students from the deputies.
But that was part of the drill.
An officer needs to be able to recognize that the gunman may be trying to elude capture by mixing with the students.
"Playing the bad guy makes me a better trainer," said Investigator Jeff Schemenauer. "I can watch their reactions and critique their response time."
Volunteer Devin DeVries, 15, said the role-playing was "fun and nerve-wracking."
She's homeschooled, so it's unlikely DeVries would find herself in such a setting.
"If this was real and happening to me, and I saw all these people, I'd freak," she said.
Explorers Capt. James Spencer, 17, said he appreciated seeing how officers trained in the field.
"It's been an eye-opener," he said.
Pierini said "active gunman" training is mandatory for Douglas deputies and, as chairman of the Nevada Peace Officers Standards and Training commission, he is helping develop statewide policies.
"We're proud of the fact we are already doing everything we can to make sure we are prepared," he said. "Hopefully, it will never happen, but we're prepared."
