“Get ready, all units,” first responder radios echoed across the Biola University campus early Feb. 28 just before the sound of gunfire and smoke bombs pierced the air.
“GO GO GO!”
About then, officers moved into formation across the university’s Meltzer Lawn area, as a simulated active shooter began to fire an assault rifle–loaded with paint.
The event was a shooting response exercise incorporating simulated gunfire, flashbangs, fire alarms, and smoke machines while police and sheriff’s department personnel utilized mock medical trauma centers for role-playing victims played by campus students and university staff.
“[We’ve] been working diligently to put a robust preparedness plan in place,” the university’s Safety Department Chief John Ojeisekoba said. “This exercise is part of our effort for a unified response ... to an active shooter event on our campus.”
As the exercise continued to play out—moving to the campus’s library area—officers were then met with masked actors portraying panicking fleeing students.
The officers were soon backed up by the sheriff’s equivalent of a SWAT unit via helicopter and an armored bearcat vehicle, eventually bringing the exercise to a close as the simulated shooters were eliminated.
During the exercise, people with mock injuries were assisted by first responders while some actors lay on the lawn feigning fatalities.
“Unfortunately, it’s not ‘if’ but ‘when’ this kind of event will happen,” Los Angeles Sheriff Robert Luna told onsite media. “It’s important that we work with our partners and be well-trained and prepared.”
