Sheriff's Office Conducts Active Shooter Training Exercise at Charter School

Carrabelle Chief of Police Craig Kincaid taking a break during the exercise

The Franklin County Sheriff’s Office conducted an ‘Active Shooter’ training exercise today for local law enforcement personnel at the ABC Charter School at 98 12th Street in Apalachicola.

An Active Shooter is an individual actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a confined and populated area.  In most cases an active shooters uses one or more firearms and there’s no pattern or method to their selection of victims.

Officers taking part in the mocked exercise were carrying AK-47’s loaded with rubber bullets and dressed from head to toe in tactical gear reminiscent of a Rambo movie. They were in search of a lone gunman that was shooting and running rampant inside the school.  The exercise was overseen by Instructors Gary Martina and Jonathan Riley both Lieutenants and deputies with the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office.   

According to Lt. Carl Whaley, also a Franklin County sheriff's deputy the training was part of the Multi-Assault Counter Terrorism Action Capabilities (MACTAC) training program, which purpose is to ready law enforcement personnel for rapid deployment to stop violent aggressive deadly behavior.  

Staff and teachers at the school also took part in the exercise to learn first-hand what steps to take with their students in the event a situation involving a school shooting does occur locally.

In a rapidly changing world with a propensity towards violence the training is another means in which Franklin County Sheriff Mike Mock has employed to keep the most vulnerable in our community safe.

"A similar exercise is in the planning stages for the Franklin County Courthouse", said Whaley.

Law enforcement personnel from both the Apalachicola and Carrabelle Police Departments participated in today’s training, which lasted almost six hours from 9:00am to 2:30pm.

Photos by Brenda Benjamin