Law enforcement trains to handle active shooter

Representatives of local law enforcement recently held a press conference to talk about what they are doing to prepare if something that is becoming more and more common comes to pass in Hill County - someone with a gun attacking people in a public place.

Hill County Sheriff Jamie Ross said U.S. Border Patrol Havre Sector held a training session on how agencies would react and cooperate together in case an active shooter is reported in the region.

"We just need to let the public know we're prepared, and we're willing to work together to solve whatever issue that comes up in our community, and this is just one of the many things we have done to do that," Ross said. "... We're all community members. We're all invested in our children and our community, and I believe we owe it to our community to be prepared for this threat."

He said the training in July was the most recent of multiple active shooter training sessions local law enforcement has held, and he thanked Border Patrol for putting together the training at no charge for the local agencies.

The training was held in late July in Havre Middle School, and Havre Police Chief Gabe Matosich thanked the school district for allowing its use.

Border Patrol Agent Shane Rice said 17 law enforcement personnel from Border Patrol, Hill County Sheriff's Offfice, Havre Police Department and Montana Highway Patrol participated in the three-day training session, which used four instructors.

The instructors included Havre School Resource Officer Josh Holt, Rice said.

"He gave a class (on) what the schools would do if this ever happened, so that way first responders in the community know exactly what to expect if this happened," Rice said.

Matosich said Holt's duties as school resource officer includes teaching what plans the schools have in place.

"He does a lot of teaching to students, faculty and staff at all the schools as well as like (Montana State University-) Northern and any other business throughout the community that wished to learn a little bit about it," Matosich said. "We will put on the training for the business."

Rice said Holt's presentation was one of several classes on the first day of training.

"We went over the history of the active shooter, how (we) as first responders responded to these situations, with a brief history such as the Texas Bell incident (in 1966), Columbine (in 1999) and how we have evolved from there," Rice said.

The next two days were spent in training sessions in the school, he said, "how to move as an individual; how to move as a team, so we went through formations, how to clear hallways, how to enter a building, evaluate thresholds, enter a room."

The third day went into shoot-no-shoot scenarios with role players playing active shooters and simulated rounds in the weapons, he said.

"Agents and officers involved had to enter in, find the threat and take care it however the situation called for," he said.

Rice said the training sessions are not because of any specific threat that has arisen in the area but are being held just to be prepared. Any first responders have to be prepared for any call, he said.

"We all back each other up in the community here," he said. "We don't always work  with the same people from our agency. We're mixing the forms every time we go and do something. So it was a great opportunity for people to work with different agencies and learn how to communicate with each other."

Ross said the training was held in a school but could apply anywhere to any kind of call.

"That training can also be put to use at a community event, at a public place and in other calls for service that we attend and jointly work together to solve problems," he said.

"Active shooter (training) can pertain to just about anything," Matosich added. " ... Training is critical, to train and train and train. That's what we rely on so we're efficient in these situations."

"It's all about working together with the other agencies," he said. " ... It's great to work together and everybody has the same training."

"We have a common goal to protect our communities," Ross added.