The calls of “shots fired” over radios Thursday night were just part of a drill, but the officers who heard them treated the exercise as a life-and-death matter.
Dozens of first responders from multiple agencies gathered at the Department of Public Safety’s Parole and Probation office in downtown Las Vegas on Thursday evening to practice an active-shooter drill. Police, troopers, firefighters, paramedics and dispatchers practice the drill a few times a year, Nevada Highway Patrol spokesman Travis Smaka said.
The training scenario is hosted by the public safety department, which cleared its office Thursday so law enforcement officials could set up a fake scenario including multiple active shooters, a barricaded suspect and multiple casualties, Smaka said.
“It is part of a concerted effort with all Southern Nevada law enforcement to make sure we are at our utmost preparedness for any event that may occur in our valley,” he said before Thursday’s drill.