BaltCo First Responders Hold Emergency Drill At Middle School

BALTIMORE COUNTY, Md. (WJZ) -- A teen shooter entered a high school. How fast can police respond and medics help victims? That's the focus of a mock drill at a Baltimore County school this weekend.

Gigi Barnett has more.

The screams are the first thing officers heard when they entered a Baltimore County school. Students were injured and a teen gunman was on the loose. It was a mock drill where every minute counted. It was staged by Baltimore County police and medics in case the real thing strikes.

"Even though we've seen it before and we've acted upon it, we can always learn from our lessons and our mistakes," said Lt. Robert McCullough, Baltimore County police.

This simulation came at a time when police in Washington state are still trying to determine what caused a 14-year-old student to open fire inside his school's cafeteria. The teen killed three students before turning the gun on himself.

Two years ago, gunfire went off on the first day at Perry Hall High School. Then 15-year-old Robert Gladden Jr. shot and injured a 17-year-old special needs student.

"Doing it at a school...it's a different element," said Executive Director of School Safety Dale Rauenzahn.

And that's why drill organizers say doing this simulation inside a school is important, because in a real-life situation, long halls can turn into what officers call "fatal funnels." It's just one exercise in this drill that first responders must master.

More than 100 Baltimore County police officers, medics and volunteers worked on the simulation.

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