Johnson County first responders train for ‘active shooter’ at school

TIFFIN — Johnson County first responders came together Friday to train for something they hope they never have to use — a large-scale active shooter in a school.

“As a parent, and as a cop, this is of paramount importance,” Johnson County Sheriff Brad Kunkel said. “I’m just really glad to see this all came together to show the community we’re doing this for them. We do this so we’re ready if we have to respond.

“It’s also a reminder. The reality of the world we live in is violence can happen in any community. We have to be ready for it. Nobody is immune to what we’re preparing for.”

That was the case at Perry High School, in central Iowa, on Jan. 4, when a 17-year-old student shot and killed a sixth-grader and wounded five, including Principal Dan Marburger, who died 10 days later.

One goal of the Friday training, held at Clear Creek Amana High School, was to work on communication between law enforcement officers — a problem identified following the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump in July — and communication with the public and the agencies that would respond in an emergency.

“If anything is going to go wrong or cause you the most difficulty in any situation, it’s communication,” Kunkel said.

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During the Friday training, teenagers and adults were stationed throughout the school and someone acted as an active shooter. The training involved two run-throughs of potential scenarios.

The drill also included news media representatives, who were invited to a mock press briefing with Kunkel and Corey Seymour, superintendent of the Clear Creek Amana school district.

The communication aspect of the training went well, Kunkel said, adding he will be talking with participating agencies to analyze the response and identify areas for improvement.

Johnson County Emergency Management arranged the training, with planning beginning in January.

The last time the county hosted a drill of this scale was in 2019, but individual agencies regularly have smaller active shooter drills, Kunkel said.

Participating in the Friday drill were individuals from the Clear Creek Amana school district, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Johnson County Ambulance Services, Johnson County Conservation and the Johnson County Medical Examiner’s Office

Firefighters from Tiffin, Oxford, Coralville and North Liberty were on hand, as well as representatives from the sheriff’s office, the Coralville, North Liberty and UI police departments and the Iowa State Patrol.

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