Weber State to hold campus shooting training

Should the worst ever happen, Weber State University Police Chief Dane LeBlanc wants to be prepared.

That's why the university will be conducting a full-scale, real-time training scenario on Tuesday involving a campus killing spree. It will involve a gunman entering the Miller Administration Building and opening fire, police and paramedics from all over the Wasatch Front responding, and a stand-off with an aggravated suspect.

"We want to make sure everyone knows it's just an exercise," LeBlanc told the Deseret News on Monday.

The exercise will last most of the day, bringing in police, firefighters and a medical helicopter to extract the "wounded." LeBlanc said it's also an exercise in cooperation among numerous police agencies and the campus.

"We don't typically work together," he said. "It will take all of us to deal with something like this. This is an effort to coordinate our police and emergency responses."

Preparing for a mass shooting comes after a wave of killing sprees, including Virginia Tech, Columbine High School and Salt Lake City's Trolley Square mall. Responses have drastically changed over the years from a patrol officer setting up a perimeter and waiting for SWAT — to now, heavily armed police racing inside the building to stop the shooter.

"There's no more hesitation," LeBlanc said.

Weber State itself dealt with a campus shooting in 1993, when a man opened fire in a student grievance hearing, wounding three — including a police officer — before being shot to death.

"I believe Weber State is one of the safest campuses in the state of Utah," LeBlanc said. "We just want to make sure we're absolutely prepared for whatever the scenario may be. I hope that day never comes."

---

E-MAIL: bwinslow@desnews.com