Officials at North Carolina Central University in Durham took advantage of students being away from campus for winter break by holding training for a campus emergency. An all-day emergency training exercise was held on campus for more than 250 police and other emergency personnel from across the state.
The exercise included role players in an active shooter scenario on campus. Sounds of simulated gunfire echoed across campus for more than an hour. First responders were trained in getting wounded out of harm’s way and transported to area hospitals. Hostage negotiators were used to talk with suspects at two residence halls.
Robert McLaughlin, an officer of the NCCU campus police force stated, “Having a campus that was essentially closed gave us the opportunity to stage a major training event. This is a chance to test our incident command system, coordination between agencies and different radio frequencies, and coordination among police, fire departments and emergency medical teams.”
The exercise lasted for more than four hours.
