How To Stop A Gunman

Fbi Mobile Airport Authority Early Thursday morning the hallways of Mobile Regional Airport were filled with police running a drill. It looked real.

by Chad Petri

Published: Thu, July 24, 2008 - 6:01 am CST Last Updated: Thu, July 24, 2008 - 8:27 am CST

Mobile Airport Authority Policemen are being trained on what's known as an "active shooter scenario." This is similar to a Columbine or Virginia Tech shooting. It’s where a gunman wants to take down as many people as he can.

“Move to the sound of the gunfire safely, as quickly as you can, eliminate that threat so we can get the emergency service guys in here and everyone and everybody necessary to save lives at that point, says FBI Special Agent George Glaser.

He first runs through basic techniques on how to clear a room and stay safe when you have a gunman on the loose. After the dry, it's time to lock and load. Everyone gets a 9 millimeter simunition gun. It’s loaded with paint-ball bullets.

“It manipulates the same, feels the same, same weight same everything as a real gun a little bit more realistic than paintball,” says Glaser. The call comes over the radio. The first team is off. Carefully, they stalk the hallways and watch-out for the bad guys. The shooters are armed too and have a few tricks up their sleeves. A fishing line is pulled over the hallway. The line’s attached to an alarm. This is the bad guy’s version of an improvised explosive device or IED. The first team doesn't see it and the alarm goes off. It's hard to isolate the bad guys.

After each drill, they regroup. Glaser helps them reassess each exercises strengths and weaknesses. The police learn communication and teamwork and how to react on their home turf.

“We know these are the areas we will be working in if we do have to respond to this kind of emergency,” says Mobile Airport Authority Police Chief James Kincaid. Sometimes the shooters meet the business end of the bullet and sometimes it's the cops. For the drills we saw, the police won two out of the three drills.

“It's a chance for these guys to come out and encounter these guys make their mistakes here where it doesn't hurt anybody, learn here so when that situation come up there's a much greater level of preparedness,” says Glaser. He says the police have to isolate the shooter, kill him, or force him to commit suicide. Glaser says these techniques are used in situations where any delay or waiting could result in more casualties.

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