Public Safety hold training for active-shooter threats

Mt. Hood’s Public Safety officers, Wayne Feagle and Cherilyn Nederhiser held an informational training session in the Town & Gown Room Wednesday to inform students on what they should do during an active shooter threat.

No students attended the event besides a reporter from The Advocate and one instructor.

Feagle began by mentioning that there are many different programs in existence that are meant to be a guide for students during a threat. The one Mt. Hood teaches —  “run, hide, fight” ­— was developed by the United States Department of Homeland Security.

When there is a threat in the vicinity, the main focus should be to get away from the threat, he said. If running away isn’t an option, then students and staff should look for a place to hide from the threat.

“We just want people to become aware of the areas that they work and go to class, and what kinds of doors they have there, which way they open, how they lock. Things they have in the room to barricade the door ­— basically how to station themselves in the room so they’re hidden the best,” said Feagle. “The hardest thing for people to remember is turning their cell phones off.”

If running or hiding is out of the question, “that’s when we want you to fight. You gotta be committed to it. You can’t think about it. If there’s a big group in the room, two or three people would be by the door stationed where they could take the person down when he comes in.”

Earlier that day, Feagle participated in a drill at Gresham High School where real gunshots were fired. “We did a drill where they shot blanks, and they were so disorienting in the building that you couldn’t tell where they were coming from,” he said.

“I don’t think that I’d ever run because the shots are so disorienting,” said Feagle.

The presentation they set up for students is slightly different than what they have for staff. “The staff have a threat assessment team that meets when we have (a) report of some kind saying ‘this person is having trouble at school.’

“We meet and determine what kind of intervention we could do to help that person. We want to stop it at the earliest point,” said Feagle. “Most of the time it’s just getting them into counseling. It’s mainly to give them help, not to get them in trouble.”

Active shooter threats are unpredictable “They give the definition of active shooter as anything that happens in a confined area with multiple casualties, or multiple targets,” said Feagle, “Most of the events are over in five minutes. That’s why five minutes is very important because it takes the police about five minutes to get to our location.”

When law enforcement arrives, it is important for people to know that they should not approach first responders because their focus is neutralizing the threat, said Feagle.

Usually, the threat is over by the time responders arrive. “As soon as they hear that police have arrived, that’s usually when they shoot themselves because they know that the event’s over,” said Feagle.

Mt. Hood’s second lockdown drill of the year will take place  Feb. 19 from 2:50 to 3 p.m. The drill will focus on the “hide” aspect of “run, hide, fight.” For more information on active shooter safety or lockdown drills, visit mhcc.edu/PublicSafety.aspx?id=3436.

Advocate Staff