Oakland County Teachers Will Receive Active Shooter Training

Teachers and school staff throughout Oakland County will receive expert training in the next two months on how to react in an active school shooter situation.

County officials said Friday that the Oakland County Sheriff's Office and the county's Homeland Security Division will conduct five training sessions for school personnel starting in two weeks. 

In addition, Sheriff Michael Bouchard will give active shooter presentations on site at various schools in the county.

Bouchard has received numerous requests for the presentations, he said.

"Active shooter situations are unpredictable and evolve quickly, which requires people on the scene to be prepared both mentally and physically while waiting for law enforcement to arrive,” Bouchard said in a statement. 

The training is in response to the shooting tragedy last month at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut. 

“Dec. 14, 2012 is emblazoned on our memories forever,” Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson said in a statement. “Many died in the Newtown, Conn. tragedy. But many others survived because teachers knew just what to do with a shooter in the building.”

After the shooting in Newtown, leaders from the county's Homeland Security division and Oakland Schools met to plan the upcoming large-scale training sessions.

The Berkley School District is reviewing its security measures in the wake of the Newtown shooting.

"Every school in our district has emergency procedures in place which are routinely practiced and reviewed," Superintendent Dennis McDavid in a letter to parents in December. "These include fire drills, tornado drills and lock-down drills. I’ve directed all staff members to again review their building’s safety procedures and to continue to remain vigilant."

Every building in the district keeps its doors locked and has a buzz-in system with a video feed, BSD Communications Supervisor Jessica Stilger added.

"Safety is the number one thing for our buildings," she said.