Inside an active shooter drill at a Lancaster County high school

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – The Lancaster County Sheriff’s office held an active shooter training day at Raymond Central High school on Wednesday.

It involved several agencies, including Lincoln Police, the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, Nebraska State Patrol, U.S. Marshals Service and even some members of the FBI.

There were also nearly a dozen rural fire and rescue departments, which are all part of the Lancaster County mutual aid agreement.

Chief Deputy Ben Houchin said the agencies get together at least twice a year at different locations for these trainings.

“This is one of those practices and trainings you hope you never have to use, but you certainly want to know how to do it,” he said. “We want to make sure everybody in this area knows the exact way that it needs to be done so that we can save lives.”

Law enforcement practiced with drills in which they checked classrooms, helped save victims and took out active threats.

Deputy John Brady said training in an actual school makes it more realistic and prepares them for similar environments.

He said part of the training involved putting medics between armed authorities as they sweep the school to get them into classrooms and provide treatment faster.

“Typically, what you’ll see on TV with officers is they get all together and they stack up and kind of go to work,” he said. “What we’re doing now is we’re now integrating medical professionals into that stack, so that we can move into these areas much quicker with protection from law enforcement.”

Participants fired blanks and simulated bullets, which won’t hurt anyone but make it more realistic.

Lynn Johnson, superintendent of Raymond Public Schools, said it’s important to keep a healthy relationship between first responders and schools.

“I think everybody sends their kids to school wanting to know … that everybody is kept safe,” she said. “So their presence is welcomed.”