When law enforcement authorities said 20-year-old Phoenix Ikner opened fire on Florida State University’s campus earlier this year, killing two and injuring several others, it served as a reminder just how close to home the threat of an active shooter is for schools across Florida and in Duval County.
“Those officers did a great job that day, but it’s another reminder of how close to home these things happen and how quickly they can happen,” Duval County Public Schools Police Chief Jackson Short said Thursday morning. “So it’s important that we take them seriously and that we are prepared to respond.”
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Thursday morning, for the fourth straight year, multiple law enforcement agencies across Duval County conducted active shooter drills in our area schools, to make sure they’re prepared in times of crisis.
“They [were] tasked with not only locating the suspects, but also addressing them appropriately,” Chief Short explained. “In addition, we [also had] students simulating victims that need different levels of first aid, so using concepts such as the rescue task force, which is a partnership between law enforcement and fire rescue, to get those trained medical personnel into the crisis site.”
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The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department, DCPS Police Department, as well as Jacksonville, Neptune, and Atlantic beach police came together at Mayport Middle and Mayport Elementary Thursday morning, to coordinate the training exercise among beaches schools for the very first time.
“Those three beaches police departments, they work together constantly, they support each other constantly,” Chief Short said. “Their borders touch each other and it’s not uncommon for them to back each other up and back up the sheriff’s office that patrols out here in Mayport. So we felt like this location was the perfect opportunity to bring all those agencies together.”
During the summer break, police are asking parents and students to familiarize themselves with the student training for active shooter scenarios. You can find a link to those training videos on the Duval County Public Schools website by clicking here.
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