Hundreds of first responders participate in active shooter training at Scotts Valley High School

UPDATE 06/26/19 6:45 p.m. Law enforcement agencies from around California are participating in the annual U.C. Santa Cruz Police Department active shooter training this week.

Outside of stopping the threat, the goal of this training is to have police and fire working to get to the victims as quickly as possible.

UC-Santa Cruz Police Chief, Nader Oweis, said “working together or collaborating when the real thing happens will help save some lives.”

This is the first time the training is being held off of the UCSC campus. Chief Oweis said it challenges first responders when they aren’t as familiar with the place they’re responding.

This training has become more common across the U.S. and statistics prove it’s working. According to the F.B.I. from 2000-2016 there were 220 active shooter incidents where 44% of the people injured, died. In 2017 there were an additional 30 incidents, but the number of people who died dropped to 36%.

Chief Oweis said those numbers going down is largely because of these trainings, “by getting to those that are casualty or wounded or hurt early and fast and working together and collaborating when the real thing happens we know that we’re going to save lives.”

Volunteer actor, Elizabeth Carmona, said this is the second year she’s participated and continues to learn new things, “like keep pressure on the wound with both hands, with your arms straight, how to apply a tournakit. I don’t have a tournakit but if I did i’d know how to apply one.”

Scotts Valley Unified School District principals and administration staff also participated as victims and role players. Superintendent Tanya Krause said she’s going to take what she’s learned at the training back to all of her staff. “You can learn and read and see on a piece of paper what you’re suppose to do, but the emotions involved when you’re going through it to be as best prepared to understand what that’s like and how to partner with law and fire so our team can be prepared in case.”

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Multiple law enforcement agencies will spend the week at Scotts Valley High School learning the best way to approach a mass shooting incident.

The hands-on scenario will include treating victims and will have recorded audio from previous shootings. Training ammunition will also be used.

“Working together or collaborating when the real thing happens will help save some lives,” says UC-Santa Cruz Police Chief, Nader Oweis.

Chief Oweis says this is the first time in five years this training will take place away from UCSC campus.

The trainings continue as multiple law enforcement agencies are acknowledging the amount of shootings that have taken place across the United States in recent years.

Santa Cruz County agencies are participating in this training, including Capitola and Scotts Valley PD. Other agencies are expected, including those on the federal level.

The goal is to make sure all agencies know what to do should an active shooting take place on the Central Coast.

UC Santa Cruz Police say residents in the Glenwood area have received notice of the training and signs are posted saying Scotts Valley High is inaccessible at this time.

Residents are encouraged to participate in active shooter trainings as they become available to the public throughout the year.

“Ultimately if they’re faced with someone that is an active shooter, we know that one bystander who intervenes will ultimately save lives,” says Chief Oweis.

That would be the last resort, of course, the “Fight” step in the old “Run, Hide, Fight” system of surviving a mass shooting.

Running and hiding are also options, so long as you know you can either keep yourself out of sight of the shooter or run from the scene and get to a safe place.