Texas School Safety Center Tabletop Exercise Active Shooter Division for Law Enforcement, Homeland Security, and Institutional Research

Texas School Safety Center www.txssc.txstate.edu

Tabletop ExerciseActive Shooter

Division for Law Enforcement, Homeland Security, and Institutional Research


Rules of the Road

Creativity/Group Problem Solving Use the knowledge and information

available in the room Active Thinking Active Listening Active Participation Respect – challenge ideas, not people Reality Check – make the exercise real for

you.


Agenda

Introductions Scenario Description Hot Wash (Debrief) Action Planning


Introductions


The Exercise Continuum

Drills Tabletop Exercises Functional Exercises Full-Scale Exercises


What is a tabletop exercise?

Simulates an emergency situation in an informal, stress-free environment

Initiates discussion of emergency guidelines

Focuses on training and familiarization with roles, guidelines, and responsibilities


How does a tabletop exercise work?

Scenario-based discussion, guided by a facilitator

Problems talked through without stress Evaluators selected to observe and offer

feedback on the proceedings Policies, plans, and guidelines are

updated


What determines the success of a tabletop?

A successful tabletop leaves participants with: A positive learning experience Organizational learning Improvement Action Planning More effective policies, plans, and guidelines Improved preparedness


Exercise Guidelines

This exercise is designed to test the preparedness of the _____ to respond to a multi-agency, multi-site emergency event.

Following the exercise, there will be a debriefing time or “Hot Wash.”Each participant will be given the opportunity

to share their views on what worked well and what needs to be addressed in additional planning, training and/or drilling.


Exercise Guidelines (Continued)

_____ISD/college policy shall govern all activities relating to the emergency event.

The facilitator shall serve as the exercise referee and will provide any official interpretation of the exercise rules.

Although we will not actually be contacting them, ISD/college and outside resources are available to assist you.


Exercise Guidelines (Continued)

From time to time, there will be injections to the scenario. These are intended to further assess response to the exercise scenario.

This is a learning experience.


Purpose

To examine current policies, procedures, resources and actions in the context to a response to multiple sexual assaults in a college setting

To promote greater understanding and ability to apply NIMS/ICS principles in a college setting

To make improvements as identified as an outcome of the exercise


Objectives

To evaluate policies and procedures To evaluate command and control

including communications procedures To identify resources needed vs. available To identify training needs To identify needed improvements and

create an action plan to address those needs


Demographic Overview

On this slide, add bullets of information about the demographics of your school/college, including but not limited to:

Number of schools/facilities Types of schools/facilities Athletic facilities Student population Employee population


First Responder Resource Overview

On this slide, add bullets of information about the first responder resources immediately available to your school/college, including but not limited to:

Police Fire EMS


Threat Assessment

On this slide, add bullets of information about the known threats to your school/college, including but not limited to: Internal threats External threats


Scenario Narrative

Today is the first day of classes for the new school year.

Students are busy finding their classrooms and moving from one class to another.

It is 9:30 a.m. on a beautiful, clear autumn day.


Scenario (Continued)

Assistant Chief _____ is informed of an active shooter/killer situation at a San Antonio ISD campus

The active shooter/killer incident is in progress at the SAISD*

The media is beginning to report on the situation but little information is available at this time


Questions

What do you need to know? How do you find the information? What does your EOP direct? What are you going to do?


Scenario – Inject #1

It has been reported that the initial police response at the SAISD was repelled with one officer killed and two wounded.

Media reports indicate that students, faculty, and staff members have been wounded and killed in the initial attack.

Gunfire has ceased and a hostage situation is in progress.


Questions

What do you need to know? How do you find the information? What does your EOP direct? What are you going to do? Do you have the law enforcement

resources at the ready if this were to happen on your campus?


Scenario – Inject #2(20 minutes later/10:50 am)

A second attack has been reported at another Texas campus (e.g. Waco ISD) approximately 100 miles from the location of the first attack and hostage situation.

The hostage takers have been reported as using Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) to repel police.

No other information is available at this time.


Questions

What do you need to know? How do you find the information? What does your EOP direct? What are you going to do? What actions will you take? Do you activate your ISD incident

command? What is your ICS structure?



A panel van drives into the parking lot of the _____ MS* campus via _____ Dr. Two men with rifles step out and begin shooting students and staff members as they enter the _____building.

A second vehicle arrives at the _____ Dr. entrance and drives toward the back of the complex. Two additional men begin shooting as they enter the rear of the building.


Questions

What happens next? What actions have you taken to deal with

this incident in-progress? What do you need to know? What do you need to do?



The HISD-PD Dispatch receives notification of two Middle Eastern men being arrested after a DPS traffic stop at Interstate- ___ near the ___ St. exit.

The vehicle they were driving has several firearms, ammunition, and what appears to be pipe bombs.

The vehicle also contains maps of all ___ISD Middle Schools including _____ MS.


Questions





A panel van drives up to the front of the _____* MS campus.

Two men with rifles step out and begin shooting students and staff members as they walk toward the dining hall.


Questions




Scenario – Inject #6(30 minutes later/11:55)

The shooter/killers at (second site)MS campus have been shot and killed by responding officers.

The shooter/killers at (first site)MS have repelled the initial police assault killing two officers and wounding one.

A hostage situation has ensued; the campus is silent and free of gunfire.


Questions




ICS Structure Questions

Who is the Incident Commander? Who is the Public Information Officer? Who is the Liaison Officer? Who is the Operations Chief? What other ICS positions will you activate

and who will fill them?


Scenario – Inject # 7 (2 hours later)

The shooter/killers at both campuses were shot by police and the area has been secured

You have multiple fatalities and injured students, faculty, and staff

The media, parents, and local citizens are converging on your campus

You learn that you were one of four ISD/MS attacked in Texas and three other states


Questions

What do you need to know? What do you need to do? What is the ___ISD incident command

going to do to deal with this rapidly expanding complex incident?

What resources will ___ISD and the supporting first responder agencies bring and how?


Questions

What are you going to do during the recovery stage of this incident?

Can you accomplish this with your current level ofPlanningTrainingResourcesSituational awareness


Hot Wash


Hot Wash

What can be done to improve campus police operations?

What internal divisions are required to work together?

What external agencies will the liaison officer need to work with?

Are all necessary agreements in place to facilitate cooperation among agencies?


Hot Wash (continued)

How well did/will your EOP operate and what actions will you take toward improvement?

How well did/will your ICS Team operate and what actions will you take toward improvement?

How well did/will your Communications Plan operate and what actions will you take toward improvement?


Your Law Enforcement Readiness?

Command and Control Communications Training Physical and Human Resources Legal Authority


Law Enforcement Training

Use of force Firearms Response to Active Shooter/Killer Reality-Based Training Emergency Management Training


Action Plan

Lessons learned during this scenario will lead to a college action plan to

Keep Doing _____

Stop Doing _____

Start Doing _____


Conclusion

The Texas School Safety Center, Division for Law Enforcement, Homeland Security, and Institutional Research is available for: Training/Facilitation Technical Assistance Information


Contact Us

Web:

www.txssc.txstate.edu

Phone:

877-304-2727

Documents

Texas School Safety Center Tabletop Exercise Active Shooter Division for Law Enforcement, Homeland Security, and Institutional Research