ASHLAND — First responders from several local agencies converged on Grace Church along Main Street on Friday for an active shooter training.
The training was the largest ever of its kind in Ashland, said Dan Raudebaugh, assistant fire chief of the Ashland Division of Fire.
Ashland County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Curtis Hall said around 140 law enforcement officers across up to 13 agencies participated in the training event.
“It’s massive,” he said of the event. “We really want to encourage training on this type of level all across the community. Within schools, within churches, within hospitals — we need this type of training.”
Hall said 40 people from the community volunteered as role players. Another 40 volunteer fire fighters also participated in the event.
He said Grace Church, located along West Main Street surrounded by residential neighborhoods, was partly chosen as the training site because of its size and location.
“Active threat events are complex and challenging situations that require a coordinated and swift response,” said David Blake, Ashland County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy, in a press release. “It is essential for first responders to prioritize joint active threat training to better prepare for such events and save lives.”
Media was given a quick walk-thru of the simulation that officers were soon to experience. To start, officers would enter a classroom-type setting
It started in a school-type setting, with multiple people apparently shot. Some of them had make up on to show where they had been shot. Some screamed while an alarm blared throughout the halls.
The sounds and make up were intentional, Hall said.
“It’s gotta be as real as we can make it. We’re showing them what they’re going to see and feel. And smell, in some cases. This is a tough thing,” he said.
On cue, Ashland Police Officer Adam Wolbert pressed a button that tripped loud bangs meant to simulate a volley of gunfire.
In the next room, an officer ran out, screaming, with a mask holding up his fingers like they were guns. Hall said officers, in this moment, would have to act fast to neutralize the situation.
Mass shootings in America
The need for this type of training is an unfortunate reality, said Ashland County EMA Director Anne Strouth.
Tracking mass shootings is made difficult by differing definitions, but all indicators point toward a rise in the incidents.
The FBI collects data on “active shooter incidents.” The agency defines that as “one or more individuals engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a populated area.”
Using that framing, 100 people were killed and 213 were wounded in 2022, the latest data available. There were 103 deaths in 2021, 102 in 2019, and 143 in 2017.
The Gun Violence Archive, a database that tracks gun violence in the U.S., states a mass shooting is when four or more people are shot, even if no one was killed. With that definition, 656 people died in mass shootings in 2023. There were 689 in 2021, 414 in 2019 and 347 in 2017.
Strouth said the event was helpful to review response times of local law enforcement and allowed her to review the effectiveness of radio communications during similar events.
By Friday afternoon, Strouth hadn’t reviewed her notes about the event with other agencies.
“But it was very impressive,” she said. “I’ve heard that from the dispatch side of it. They all said it was very impressive. I’m not sure on any recommendations, if any, at this point.”