More than 250 police officers, school security personnel, school staffers, volunteer adults played out a deadly scenario that saw a gun man barge into a mock school board meeting, shoot some of the members and take the Ross Schools’ superintendent hostage.
The fictional event was arranged during a typical school day of events that would happen in the first month of the school year and included students from other districts on the Ross Middle and High School campus representing sports teams that would be playing or practicing.
The drill in the rural Butler County school system also included dozens of participating officials from school districts across the county, some of whom used the mock shooting training to practice communicating the news via social media to the public to reduce panic and rumors.
Ross Superintendent Scott Gates said the drill at Ross Middle School was unnerving at times but necessary to better prepare counter measures for an armed attack on a school campus.
“We share information not only with other districts but first responders,” said Gates. “There are multiple activities going on not only in this building but across the campus so the goal is how do we communicate internally that something is going on this campus and then communicate externally with other districts so they communicate effectively and with facts,” Gates said.
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