District trains for possible active shooter

ST. MARYS - Local law enforcement and school officials on Wednesday converged on the high and middle school complex to practice handling an active-shooter scenario.

The training drill had been in the works since January and took most of the day to complete. School was not in session as it was a scheduled staff and teacher inservice day.

District director of transportation Dan Grothause organized the event, which included emergency personnel from the city and Auglaize and Mercer counties, to train how to respond to an active-shooter situation and how to evacuate the building, he said.

Participants learned medical practices to help save the life of an injured student or staff member while waiting for law enforcement to gain control of the situation and paramedics to reach the injured and evacuate the building, Grothause said.
"It was quite a sight, quite an undertaking to put together," he added.
The event built on previous training district employees and law enforcement personnel had undergone over the past few years, Grothause noted.

"I was very impressed with the staff, with the ad lib, with the way they came up with things," he said.

Participants were debriefed after the exercises to share their thoughts and ideas about handling the situation.

School principals thanked Grothause for having planned the event during Wednesday night's regular school board meeting.

"I know a lot of teachers who were very anxious about the training, but they feel a lot better after going through it," St. Marys East Primary School Principal Sue Sherman said.

District staff met for their own debriefing to share ideas, she said.

"We got a lot of great feedback already," middle school principal Mary Miller said. "We learned a lot."