Portageville School District conducts active shooter training simulations

PORTAGEVILLE - “With recent shootings that have occurred, all the more reason to have these type of trainings in the school,” said Portageville Superintendent Michael Allred.

The training referred to by Allred was an active shooter training in the Portageville School District conducted Tuesday at the Portageville Middle School.

“This was a coordinated training effort with the Missouri State Highway Patrol, with the Portageville and Fire Departments, and the Hayti Police Department,” said Allred. “This training will be used to better prepare our staff and students in case of an emergency situation.”

Officers of the Portageville Police Department participated in an intruder/active shooter simulation Tuesday morning in the Portageville Middle School. Here, Captain Freddie Hill and School Resource Officer Chris Cooley apprehend the shooter, played by Ronnie Adams.Scott Seal

Officers of the Portageville Police Department participated in an intruder/active shooter simulation Tuesday morning in the Portageville Middle School. Here, Captain Freddie Hill and School Resource Officer Chris Cooley apprehend the shooter, played by Ronnie Adams.Scott Seal

Master Sergeant Dennis Rainey with the Missouri State Highway Patrol (MSHP) said the training drill was for a critical incident.

“Mr. Allred asked us to come and provide additional training for the school’s safety and security and to include a medical response and the Portageville Police Department,” Rainey said. “We also included the local fire department as practice of setting up a triage unit for the victims.”

With recents school shootings in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio, “this has made folks think about the need for more awareness and the ability to be prepared,” Rainey added.

Portageville Police Chief Ronnie Adams said it was a good event, and hoped there could be more of these types of training events.

“As a trained law enforcement officer, you still learn new or different things, and at the same time reinforce things you already know,” Adams said. “As a member of the Portageville School Board, this type of training showed the teachers the importance of getting prepared in case something like this happens in here. That’s all the more reason why we need to work on getting funding to have a full-time school resource officer.”

The agencies that helped included the Portageville Police Department, Missouri State Highway Patrol, the Portageville Fire Department, Lorna Turnage and the A+ Family Clinic staff.

“I just want to tip my hat off to the Portageville school administrators and staff. They do a lot of good here and are very concerned about the safety of these kids,” said Rainey.

He also noted that he has been to Portageville before and led some training, and this type of training has also been conducted in several churches and schools within the Zone 10 area of Troop E. For more information about this training, please call Troop E headquarters in Polar Bluff. The number to call is 573-840-9500.

“We would like to thank the valuable law enforcement professionals and fire department personnel for conducting/participating in the active shooter training scenarios,” Allred said. “These agencies are very valuable assets to our students and community.”