PORTLAND, Ore. -- The halls of Glencoe High School were turned into a training ground Monday, as a parade of deputies with Washington County Sheriff's Office prepared for an active shooter training.
"We have been doing these trainings for the last 20 years here in Washington County and there has definitely been a shift as the types of attack change," said Lieutenant John Crecelius with the Washington County Sheriff's Office. He added that Monday's exercise was all about training and tactics.
"We have about 50 role players and it's extremely important for the police and firefighters going through to have to assess what's going on," said Crecelius.
Law enforcement respond, even when threats turn out to be hoaxes. KGW investigators found those situations have been on the rise. Records from the Oregon Department of Education show over the last three years, there's been a jump in student discipline for threats of violence made on schools. According to the FBI, there's been an increase in actual active shooter events across the country.
"They have increases a little bit in the post 2020 era the last number I saw was 53 active shooter events last year in the United States," said Crecelius about the increase.
They also take lessons learned from other situations we've seen unfold from across the country, like in Uvalde, Texas in May 2022.
Crecelius said this about that school shooting, "What we need to do is pull the lessons learned out of that and I strongly believe a situation like Uvalde could not happen here."
Knowing what they learned on Monday, could help save lives for when this real life training turns into a real life emergency.