Wake school resource officers undergo first active shooting training since 2019
School resource officers with the Wake County Sheriff's Office were practicing Tuesday for an active shooting situation at Ligon Middle School in light of recent school shootings in North Carolina last week.
The officers are given scenarios to work through, like an active shooter inside the school gym who shot three students. Officers practiced rushing inside the school, locating, isolating and arresting a suspected shooter.
Wake County Sheriff Gerald Baker said on Tuesday this training was a timely refresher in the officers’ training after two school shootings happened last week in the state.
"We thought it was necessary to get ahead of what's happening," he said.
Baker said the last time officers did an active shooter drill was 2019 because the pandemic prevented officers from training inside schools.
"Not saying it's going to happen, we pray that it don't," he said. "But there's nothing like being prepared and making sure these officers are being conscious and aware."
Wake County Sheriff's Office is one of the 11 agencies that supply the Wake County Public School system with school resource officers. City and town police departments also help provide SROs to the school system.
