The Dexter School District held Active Shoot Training at Dexter High School on July 17, 2024. The Dexter Police Department, Missouri State Highway Patrol, Missouri Department of Conservation, Dexter Fire Department, Emergency Management, and Stoddard County Ambulance District were involved in mock active shooter training exercise.
If the unthinkable were to occur Chief Hank Trout stated that they would like to all be on the same page training together and learning how to engage in the individual and take him/her down as safely as possible while protecting our students on campus. Dexter Schools has two Resource Officers on campus during school hours as well as at sporting events and other on campus events.
The training exercise began with a 911 call from someone inside the halls of DHS. "Please help, there is a shooter inside the high school!"
The Dexter PD Resource Officers were first on the scene. They entered the building with their weapons drawn and ready to shoot. Once inside the hallway, the officers could hear and see victims on the floor screaming for help or they were already dead from the shooter. They made the training as realistic as possible even with fake blood next to victims. Fire trucks blocked the entrances to the high school to prevent the public from entering.
During a real incident the officers will take down the shooter as quickly as possible before checking the injured or dead. They have to take out the threat first!
Once the threat is down, EMS and first responders will be allowed to enter the building. They check the pulse of the first patient, dead. They move on quickly to the next victim, quickly loading him onto the gurney, checking vitals and running out of the building to an awaiting ambulance.
It will be chaotic in a "real" situation. There was only one 911 call to initiate this training. During a real event, there will be multiple 911 calls. Everyone with a cell phone will be calling. Students, teachers, parents etc will be calling 911 and the school to find out the condition of their loved one. It will be very hectic.
This is important, parents will not be allowed on campus until the situation is under control, all victims have been sent to the hospital and the school officials enact their plan to release students from different campuses. It will seem like an eternity, frustrations will be high, people will be mad, but to be honest, it's all to protect your student! These officers took this training very seriously.
This was the first time the fire department and EMS have been included in the active shooter training. This helps those involved to access what went right and what went wrong so they can improve on communication as well as how to handle all the moving parts of a scenario such as this.
Gavin Miller, Assistant Superintendent of Dexter Public Schools will be at the command post waiting and listening to the radio to hear the shooter has been taken out. It's part of what they call ALICE Training.
ALICE is an active shooter protocol and stands for Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, and Evacuate.
ShowMe Times will be near the command center as well and will be reporting whatever needs to be sent out to the community. This is one reason I attend these trainings so I can be helpful and not in the way if a real shooting incident were to occur. As a parent I understand the need to get to your student/son/daughter/grandson/granddaughter as quickly as possible and it would be hard for me to stay away, but during the entire training those officers do not know what to expect. Everyone is a potential target and they do not want to accidentally shoot someone. Adrenaline is high and that lump in your throat is there. Even during the scenario those participating could feel the intenseness of the officers. They take this very seriously! Thank you to everyone who participated and we hope this never happens to any school, bur if it happens here, they are ready!
