FBI teen academy looks to draw next generation of talent

Twin Cities high schoolers looked on Wednesday as an intense SWAT team situation unfolded before their eyes. 

However, it's all staged and part of the FBI's teen academy in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota.

The FBI in the Twin Cities says they need to keep its numbers up to keep pace with new threats.    

"My friends would ask me, 'What do you mean you're going to an FBI academy, like what did you do?'" said Mady Anderson, a Rogers High School 11th grader.

Anderson was one of about two dozen high schoolers who got accepted for the two-day program. Their goal Wednesday was to learn how to collect evidence through skills taught by real-life agents.

"It's really fun. I think it's really interesting," said East Ridge 11th grader Peyton Gehbard. "I wish I could be on a real case, but I'm only 16."

"One of the reasons is to show them what is real FBI, what do we really do. It's different from the movies and they get to peek on that," said Benni Jonsson, assistant special agent in charge for the FBI's Minneapolis field office.

The purpose of the national program is to give teens a peek behind the curtain, and possibly inspire a future career.

"Maybe someone here today is the new FBI employee, maybe new lead in FBI or law enforcement," said Johnsson.