White County deputies and police officers from Helen and Cleveland were among the approximately 150 people who participated in the day-long drill at White County High School on Oct. 4, 2019. (Daniel Purcell/Now Habersham)
White County Emergency Management, in coordination with the White County Board of Education, conducted an active shooter drill at the White County High School.
“These types of exercises are important to activate plans, train teams from various agencies to work together, and test skills learned in training,” said Public Safety Director David Murphy.
Personnel from multiple agencies participated in the drill including the White County Sheriff’s Office, Cleveland Police, Helen Police, White County Fire and EMS, Cleveland Fire, White County Emergency Management / 9-1-1, and the White County School System.
In the attempt to make the exercise as real as possible, students from Truett McConnell University volunteered their time and participated as victims representing students in a high school setting. “The students and staff from Truett McConnell make these exercises possible, without them, the exercise would not be as effective. We can actually exercise as close to a real-life scenario as possible. We appreciate our partnership with Truett McConnell” said Murphy.
Overall, the scenario used approximately 150 participants including observers from GEMA/Homeland Security, the White County Board of Commissioners, the White County Board of Education, and School Administrators.
Murphy says an after-action team will now take the exercise and break it down to see if goals and objectives were met. They’ll work on areas that need improvement through training and future exercises.
