Active shooter drill set for Aug. 24 in Port Angeles

By Sequim Gazette Staff • August 23, 2017 1:30 am

An active shooter mass casualty training drill is planned for Thursday, Aug. 24, at Peninsula College in Port Angeles, as part of ongoing disaster preparedness training.

The drill will be conducted from noon-4:30 p.m., with volunteers dressed for role playing.

Preparations for the exercise will be Wednesday, Aug. 23, and Thursday, Aug. 24, beginning at 7 a.m. Community residents will notice a number of various emergency vehicles and personnel coming and going at the college, Olympic Medical Center and Lower Elwha Tribal Clinic.

The Port Angeles Police Department will have a designated detour in the immediate area of Park Street, Porter Street and Lauridsen Boulevard, which will include manned traffic control. Residents in the immediate vicinity will be given an alternate route for ingress/egress from their homes.

There also will be a number of law enforcement and fire/emergency services personnel involved in the exercise.

The event is not open to the public, but the college will remain open for business with limited access around the campus.

The training drill is a product of an inter-agency group that includes law enforcement instructors representing organizations throughout Clallam County. Law enforcement agencies that are involved include: Sequim Police Department, Port Angeles Police Department, Lower Elwha Tribal Police Department, Customs and Border Protection, Homeland Security, Washington State Patrol, Department of Corrections, Olympic National Park and the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office.

The Peninsula College Campus Safety/Emergency Management Department and Clallam County Sheriff’s Office have been meeting and working on organizing and facilitating a training drill at Peninsula College since Jan. 13.

The Inter-agency Group, led by the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office, is working toward conducting a similar training at each Clallam County school in the district.

The upcoming drill at Peninsula College will be the group’s second exercise involving active shooter/mass casualty training for local responders.

These drills are in accordance with statewide mandates for schools and institutions of higher learning as a result of events around the nation and world.