Hollister
– In the wake of the Virginia Tech massacre and several recent
threats of shootings on county school campuses, local law enforcers
trained Saturday to prepare for the worst.
Hollister – In the wake of the Virginia Tech massacre and several recent threats of shootings on county school campuses, local law enforcers trained Saturday to prepare for the worst.
The San Benito County Sheriff’s Office invited five other agencies to participate in ‘active shooter’ training, which prepares officers to respond to situations like Columbine and Virginia Tech.
“If something like this were ever to happen – heaven forbid – we need to be prepared,” Sheriff Curtis Hill said.
Along with sheriff’s deputies, members of the Hollister Police Department, Pinnacles National Monument, Bureau of Land Management, CalFire and county emergency ambulance crews attended.
Beginning six months ago, Hill began working with school officials to train for such situations.
“The timing was perfect for us to reaffirm some of those protocols,” Hill said.
The last time county law enforcers had an active shooter training was three years ago, Hill said.
But the need to keep deputies and officers both old and new up to speed on active shooter situations has prompted a series of trainings in the coming months.
Hill said he believes the county’s schools and law enforcement agencies are prepared for an active shooter scenario.
“I think we’re prepared,” Hill said. “We’ve got great staff out there in those schools.”
The sheriff added that anywhere people gather, such as businesses or public places, could be a potential target.
“Everybody thinks of the schools, and obviously our young kids in the community are our top priority,” Hill said.
Deputy Kelly Burbank, who is a certified active shooter trainer, took teams of four through San Benito High School hallways, stairways and classrooms Saturday. Burbank gave pointers on technique and stressed communication between law enforcers during the walk-throughs.
The teams walked through the school in different formations. Burbank showed teams how to use the ‘diamond formation,’ which allows law enforcers, with guns drawn, to be back-to-back and see 360 degrees around them.
Approaching active shooters can be more dangerous than other suspects with guns because officers often have to seek out the threat, Burbank said.
“This is a worst-case scenario,” Burbank said.
Aside from training for officers, school officials are important first defense, Hill said.
“We try to prevent some of these things on the front-end,” the sheriff said.
Lt. Roy Iler said school officials acted quickly in a recent threat at Anzar High School.
A 15-year-old Anzar High School student was detained on suspicion of threatening a school shooting in May. School officials acted quickly after being informed that the student told classmates he planned to “shoot somebody,” according to a sheriff’s report.
“That was real,” Iler said. “We had four students who came forward and said he’s trying to buy a gun.”
Another student, 18-year-old San Andreas High School student Jesse Gutierrez, was arrested May 7 when a teacher allegedly overheard him threaten a school shooting.
On May 15, Keith Borchers, 37, was convicted of threatening a Columbine-like incident at Spring Grove School earlier that month.
