This is just a drill

Titusville Herald – by Mary Hill

Editor’s note: The following is an account of an active shooter drill at Pitt-Titusville on Tuesday.

Two men, each carrying pistols, walked into Boomer’s and McKinney Hall on the University of Pittsburgh at Titusville campus and opened fire, injuring many people.  

Law enforcement arrived and took both shooters into custody; and emergency responders attended to the wounded. Two people were transported to Titusville Area Hospital.

According to The Herald’s staff in the business office, the scanner was buzzing with activity.

But the words, “This is only a drill,” were repeated often as the incident unfolded at UPT throughout the morning.

Luckily, the shooters were actors who had starter pistols loaded with blanks.

Although the active shooter training was only a training exercise, the scene was realistic, and a bit nerve-wracking.

According to Tammy Carr, assistant to the president and director of marketing, UPT faculty and staff participated in the exercises, which were held at the Student Union (housing Boomer’s and McKinney Dining Hall) and Henne Auditorium.

The people involved in the drill included players, exercise controllers, evaluators, actors and media personnel.

At 8:30 a.m., law enforcement officers checked in their weapons at Titusville High School, and obtained simulated weapons for use in the training exercise.

The first exercise started at 9 a.m., in Boomer’s and the dining hall.

Allen Clark, director of Crawford County Emergency Management, held a safety briefing in Boomer’s, around 8:45 a.m., for the 34 “actors” who portrayed the “victims.”

“We plan, we train, hoping we never have to use it,” Clark said.

He stressed that safety was the number one priority during the drill.

“We want to make it [the exercise] as safe as possible,” he said. “If you have a safety issue, say, ‘safety, safety, safety.’”

Clark then told the actors that some of them had cards that described whether they would be running from the scene and the shooter, or if they suffered injuries.

“The guns will be loud, they are starter pistols,” he said.

Clark also instructed the participants to call 911 and say at the beginning and end of the call, “This is a drill.”

Next to speak was Scott Dubrosky, exercise controller, who said that in this scenario, “Don’t attack the bad guy. Just don’t do anything, don’t attack him.

“We’re not here to terrorize, we’re here to train. The shooter will wave the gun around and he will be yelling.”

After Dubrosky spoke, a man came around the corner of the back entrance to Boomer’s and opened fire, yelling, “Everybody down,” as he walked around the room.

Of the approximately 12 people in the room, as well as a mannequin dressed in firefighter gear, all but three ran out the door. The mannequin and two “live” people were laying on the floor following the “shooter’s attack.”

The same scene was also being played out in McKinney Dining Hall where a second shooter opened fire.

Titusville and UPT campus police arrived on the scene, guns drawn as they subdued the shooters and handcuffed them. After police made sure the building was secure and safe, emergency responders arrived to assess and treat “the injured.”

Dubrosky said the drill appeared to go well.

“They neutralized the threat,” he added.

Paul Burgh, a sergeant with the University of Pittsburgh’s main campus, in Pittsburgh, said he brought a team of officers with him for the exercise.

“We’re here to learn,” Burgh said. “We do a ton [of drills each year].”

He added that he wanted to see the scenario improved as far as the actors who portrayed the victims were concerned [some of the actors did not flee the room quickly when the shooters began firing the guns].

“When you hear a shot in a cafeteria, you should get up and run,” Burgh said.

A second drill was held at 10 a.m., in Henne Auditorium, and several people (actors) were transported by ambulance to Titusville Area Hospital for treatment.

Carr said the drill went very well.

“It was a full-scale drill,” she said.

Carr added that during the second drill, there was one [mock] fatality, one critical injury and four walking wounded.

She said the person [actor] who was critically injured was transported by helicopter to an area hospital.

Carr also held a press conference after the drill which she said gave her an opportunity to get a feel of what happened on campus.

“It gave me insight of what might happen in an actual emergency,” she said.

Since the drill was a success, Carr said UPT will hold some type of emergency training in the future.

Agencies participating in the training exercise were Pitt-Titusville Campus Police, University of Pittsburgh SERT, Titusville Police, Pennsylvania State Police, EmergyCare, Titusville Fire Department, Titusville Area Hospital, Titusville Area School District, Bloomfield and Centerville EMS, Hydetown Volunteer Fire Department and the Crawford County Sheriff’s Department.

Pitt-Titusville and Crawford County Emergency Management Agency co-sponsored the training exercise.

Roles defined

According to a pamphlet, titled, “Operation Panther Protection,” roles of those involved in the active shooter training exercise were defined as follows:

The players are those who have an active role in discussing or performing their responsibilities during the exercise.

The controllers plan and manage the exercise, set up and operate the exercise site and act in the roles of organizations or individuals who are not playing in the exercise. They direct the pace of the drill and supervise the safety of all participants.

Evaluators provide feedback on a designated functional area of the exercise. They observe and document performance against established capability targets and critical tasks.

The actors simulate specific roles during the exercise, typically they portray the victims or other bystanders.

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