WTOC, Savannah, Georgia, news, weather and sports | Law enforcement train for terror

Law enforcement train for terror

STATESBORO, GA (WTOC) - The scene could be right out of a movie and one nobody wants to imagine. Thousands of people at a football game when a shooter opens fire and takes hostages. But police and others must be ready to respond. Police officers, sheriff's deputies, state troopers and GBI agents gathered at Georgia Southern University's Paulson Stadium to prepare for the worst.

A masked man with pretend pipe bombs strapped to his chest stood on top of the field house as police moved into position. Around the stadium, many lay on the ground as if they'd been shot during a ball game. Local and state law officers practiced what they would do.  

Up top, the gunman has a TV crew hostage. He makes them wear masks like his and forces them to throw pipe bombs at the officers below, making it harder to know who's who. As the drill went along, officers learn the man is a disgruntled school employee. Planners say that may be a more realistic threat than international terrorists.  

Commanders here said the mindset they constantly fight is it would never happen here. "That could be said at Columbine. That could be said at Virginia Tech. Those communities are not different from ours," explained GSU police chief Ken Brown.

Eventually, the SWAT team brought everyone outside and they identified the bad guy, after several twists and turns. Georgia Emergency Management leaders who planned the drill said first responders should expect the unexpected.

"You'll get there and need more ammo and won't have it. Somebody who's enroute will have a wreck," said Gordon Lowe of GEMA. "Cell phone batteries go dead and guns can jam."

The idea is to get everyone trained for what works and what doesn't.  

"We want mistakes made here in a practical exercise and not in a real event where people's lives are at stake," explained Georgia Bureau of Investigation director Vernon Keenan.

Everyone leaves safely, thinking about what could happen tomorrow.  More than 200 law officers and medical crews took part in the drill.

Reported by Dal Cannady, dcannady@wtoc.com