The FBI’s Albany field office and the University of Vermont held an active shooter training exercise today near the Burlington college. Although it was scheduled some time ago, it comes after another mass shooting has the country on high alert.
The tabletop shooter and crisis exercise was held off campus at the college’s research center in Colchester. The training brought together law enforcement, emergency responders and college officials to review management and response in a crisis situation. FBI Albany Field Office Special Agent In Charge James Hendricks: “What you’re going to walk through today is very crucial for preparation and planning. What we’ve found through these exercises is that when you participate and you collaborate and you throw all ideas out on the table it’s a much more productive process. What we’ve also found through studies is that most colleges and businesses think ‘well I never thought it would happen to me.’ And hope to God it doesn’t happen here, but in the event that it does we want to be prepared.”
FBI Albany Field Office Public Affairs Specialist Sarah Ruane says the tabletop training presents two scenarios to the first responders. “They’re going to walk through step by step. But what’s great about it is that so many people from different agencies are in there because they can each add a different kind of perspective from either things that they’ve done, things that they’ve seen, other trainings they’ve had that maybe other agencies have not been afforded that same opportunity.”
The media was only allowed to view the first 15 minutes of the four-hour session as FBI officials did not want sensitive information compromised. During that time, data on active shooting incidents between 2000 and 2013 was detailed. It showed active shooter incidents occurred in 40 of 50 states. There were an average of 11.4 per year and that number is increasing. Only four incidents ended with no one killed or injured.
University of Vermont Police Chief Leanne Tuomey constantly thinks about a potential active shooter situation on the campus. She says tabletop training is one aspect of overall training to deal with potential crises. “I think it’s important to note that law enforcement isn’t engaged in just stopping killing anymore. We have transitioned to thinking about we know that people are dying. So we don’t wait any longer. We are partnering with our emergency service folks to get medical attention to them. We’re training our officers to bring medical attention to them. We’re outfitting them with those types of things because what’s really important at the end of the day is saving lives.”
UVM Provost Annie Stevens, co-chair of the college’s Emergency Operations Group, says this training will help them respond appropriately if anything should happen on the campus. “Through a tabletop you can still work through a lot around communications, a lot around different roles and responsibilities of members of the team, coordinating efforts and support efforts as well as you know and really understanding UVM Police and what does it mean to come together and have a mutual aid response.”
Officials from the Burlington, Winooski and UVM Police Departments, EMS services, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Vermont State Police, Saint Michael’s College, Norwich University, the Vermont Intelligence Center and the U.S. Attorney’s office were among those participating.
