Nearly a dozen supervisors and squad commanders stood huddled outside the Gwinnett County Justice and Administration Complex in Lawrenceville early Saturday morning, poring over floorplans of the building and hurrying to form a plan to eliminate a live threat inside.
The high-ranking officials set up a whiteboard and used two patrol cars as desks in the otherwise empty parking lot of the justice complex. They spoke amongst themselves and radioed orders back to their teams to stop the gunman prowling amongst the civilians in the 508,000-square-foot courthouse.
But the threat wasn’t a real one; the gunman in question was an officer with the Georgia Gwinnett College Police Department armed with a mock weapon similar to a paintball gun. It was part of a multi-agency training scenario held to prepare for a potential active shooter situation.
“Our main thing is if an incident happens in Gwinnett County and the sheriff’s office responds, we want to be organized,” sheriff’s office spokesman Deputy C.J. Releford said.
Credit: Jenni Girtman
Credit: Jenni Girtman
“In a real-life scenario, chaos is going to be everywhere, people are going to be injured, but it is important for law enforcement officers to respond in a coordinated manner,” he said.
Officers and first responders from eight agencies in Gwinnett County participated in the exercise, including sheriff’s deputies, investigators with the Gwinnett district attorney’s and solicitor’s offices, fire personnel, and police officers.
The Gwinnett sheriff’s office, which has deputies stationed at the courthouse daily, conducts similar training regularly, Releford said.
“This is a continuation of our ongoing training for the court operations division (of the sheriff’s office),” Releford said. “All throughout the year, we’ve been doing these exercises to help us respond to a threat at the Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center.”
For the past two years, it has brought together agencies from across the county to participate in the exercise to coordinate other response elements, like helping injured victims and arranging medical transport.
“Our role is casualty collection, as well as triage and transport,” Gwinnett Fire and Emergency Services spokeswoman Jessica Joiner said. “So any victim who needs help, we assist them. The sheriff’s office will help us stay secure and safe and we will get those victims out to a hospital if needed.”
Personnel participating in the drill were not given any details ahead of time about what the scenario would be, how many civilian volunteers were in the building or how many shooters they might encounter.
“Today’s scenario is designed so that everybody gets their training,” Gwinnett sheriff’s office Assistant Chief Jermaine Jackson said during a safety briefing preceding the exercise.
Credit: Jenni Girtman
Credit: Jenni Girtman
Peace officers were temporarily issued mock weapons similar to paintball guns with dye colors to help distinguish if the shots fired during the exercise were from the gunman or from an officer. All participants — civilian and law enforcement alike — wore protective equipment to shield their eyes and faces.
Fire engines, SWAT vehicles and other emergency vehicles were all stationed away from the courthouse until the training started, much like how they would be if they were to receive an authentic call about an active shooter.
Promptly at 8:10 a.m., the message came over the Gwinnett County dispatch channel: “The exercise is now active.”
More than 50 Gwinnett County citizens volunteered to pose as civilian victims for the lifelike drill. Many were escorted out by armed officers. Others came out limping and covered in artificial blood, half-carried by officers to a nearby medical tent. Some — including a deputy who had taken fake bullets to his waist and shoulder — were rolled out in rolling chairs as other officers and first responders coordinated on how to transport them all to the nearest hospital.
Diana Menendez and her 17-year-old daughter both volunteered for the training but became separated from one another during the exercise. She said they chose to volunteer so they, as civilians, would also know how to respond in an active shooter situation.
“I want (my daughter) to be prepared if something happens,” she said. “And they told us what to do, like to go and hide and find a safe place.”
While Saturday’s training was specific to the courthouse, Releford said the exercise allows emergency personnel to practice skills that are necessary in any active shooter situation.
“This training, it saves lives,” he said. “The same way that you go and respond to a courtroom is the same way that you’re going to go in and respond to a domestic situation, any type of arguments, God forbid a shooting at a school, or a hospital or whatever the case may be.”
Counselors were available to civilian volunteers in case the realistic exercise became overwhelming.
“Training needs to be as realistic as possible, Releford said. “You never want to train to get it right. You want to train until you can’t get it wrong. And when violence is evolving all across America, Gwinnett County has to be ready.
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