If you see a lot of police activity at Shawnee State University or hear some scary scanner traffic about an active shooter on Thursday and, don’t be alarmed. It’s all part of a special Ohio Homeland Security Exercise.
Shawnee State’s Campus will play the part of a fictitious college while officers from Portsmouth, Athens, Chillicothe, Jackson, Logan, Ohio University, Rio Grande, and Wellston Police Departments join deputies from Athens, Hocking, Jackson, and Perry County Sheriff’s Offices in the simulation.
It’s all designed to test their capabilities to respond to a real-world emergency. According to Scioto County EMA Director Larry Mullins, “The scenario for the exercise states that “it’s a typical Wednesday morning on the campus of Columbia State University (CSU). School is in session, and the students, faculty, and staff go about their daily routines when the first of many calls are received at the local 9-1-1 dispatch center. The calls all report that shots are being fired on the first floor of Harris Hall at CSU. The calls report that people have been injured because of the shooting.”
A grand from State Homeland Security paid for the exercise which will be run by Disaster Demons Emergency Management Group of Nelsonville, Ohio.