OSAGE COUNTY  —Shots rang out at Chamois R-1 on Friday and Fatima R-3 on Monday but these, fortunately, were fired from rifles armed with blank cartridges as part of an active shooter training exercise that brought together 911, law enforcement, EMS, fire, and school personnel.

“It went very well overall in both locations,” said Sheriff Mike Bonham. “These exercises are designed for all to learn and with that said, we learned a lot.”

In both scenarios, planned for months as members of each agency conducted a tabletop walkthrough, followed by the real-time simulation, a lone gunman entered each school and began a rampage that ultimately ended in the shooter taking his own life.

“The training is geared toward patrol deputies as well as other officers,” said Bonham. “They would be the first responders in an active shooter situation. The goal is to manufacture stress and then test a deputy’s ability to make decisions, what could be lifesaving choices.”

Bonham added that deputies train so they make better decisions, being more tactful, and rendering better aid to certain people so they’re not so stressed out and they’re not focusing on the task at hand.

School faculty and staff trained on how to survive such a situation while waiting for help to arrive.

“I think it was a beneficial exercise for all agencies involved,” said Chamois Superintendent Lyle Best, who expressed his appreciation for everyone who played a role in this exercise. “It can be difficult coordinating such an exercise, so we appreciate the willingness of all agencies to participate.  The exercise provided the opportunity for school personnel to discuss many aspects of school safety, put procedures into practice, and address areas that we had not previously discussed with much detail.”

Little things like sheltering in place instead of roaming the halls, making sure classroom doors are secured and students are protected are all part of the mission.

Chamois Principal Jeremy McKague agreed that staff gained valuable experience. “The reunification we did at the church was something we had never actually done but was very helpful,” he added.

Retired State Training Coordinator A.J. Lehman led the exercise to evaluate responses and provide feedback.

During the briefing at the conclusion of the scenario, he said everyone did their jobs well but did have suggestions for improvement. 

“We don’t discuss the specifics of the situation so we don’t compromise response tactics,” Bonham added.

Deputies responded to the scene after a 911 call was made by a staff member. Response times will vary, depending on who is on duty and where in the county they are located.

However, Lehman said this kind of situation demands a swift and deliberate response. “It’s all-hands-on-deck for this kind of situation,” he said.

911/EMA Director Ron Hoffman was responsible for ensuring that agencies were dispatched quickly, and said his dispatchers did a great job.

“We overwhelmed our dispatchers like they would be in a real situation, and I hate that we have a need for these drills but it helps to have this training,” Hoffman said. “There’s always more to learn but I’m happy with the way everything went.”

Two deputies, Andrew Koons and Cpl. Dennis Sutton, were the first to respond at Chamois, reacting to the immediate threat, rescuing hostages, and providing triage, and all the while dealing with anxiety-building distractions such as loud noises and diminished visibility with smoke. 

Role players shout what is often contradictory information. “It is all designed to create the physiological challenges that law enforcement might face in a real scenario,” said Bonham. “Tunnel vision, rapid, shallow breathing, memory loss, whether it is short-term or long-term, basically the loss of the fine motor skills. You need all of those things when you’re conducting any high-stress situation and in this certain situation, when we’re doing active shooter response, we need all of that stuff intact.”

All told, there were six victims at Chamois, with two fatalities.

After clearing each section of the school, EMS was activated to attend to the victims.

“Once EMS crews receive a notification of an (MCI) mass casualty incident like this we have a guideline that initiates a multiple agency response from many different ambulance districts around to help with patient care and transport,” said OAD Chief Josh Krull. “First arriving ambulances would focus on triage (sorting) of the patients by the most critically injured and also providing basic lifesaving treatments. Those crews would not leave the scene but instead prep the patients for other arriving ambulances to transport.” 

Once the mutual aid ambulances start arriving the most critically injured would be transported first followed by the least seriously injured.

In this case, Paramedic/Supervisor Carrie Hickman and EMT Olivia Niekamp arrive first, followed by Paramedic Stephanie McCulloch and EMT Tina McKinney.

“We hope to never activate the MCI plan but it makes the incident run a little smoother knowing help is coming and having a planned approach to respond to such an incident,” said Krull. “We appreciate the help from our law and fire responders who would be extremely valuable in helping with the triage and treatment process on scene.”

Law enforcement also provides protection for EMS and fire crews, walking the scene with them and covering their backs while EMTs and paramedics help patients. In the scenario, tags were affixed to victims to indicate the level of injury or death.

At the Chamois scene, Hoffman also was representing the Linn Fire Protection District, which provided mutual aid to Chamois Fire Protection District, led by Incident Commander Sean Hackmann.

Capt. Travis Shaffer, Brandon Cole, and Jacob Cottingham, and Trooper Brian Lange, arrived minutes after the first pair of deputies and the quartet cleared the elementary building.

The suspect was cornered eventually and fired at deputies, wounding Cottingham before retreating and taking his own life.

Everything done at Chamois was also done at Fatima, though it required more hands because of the school’s larger and more expansive layout.

Fatima Superintendent Chuck Woody agreed this was very good training. “There was a problem with the website they tried to use for some of the training, at no fault of Osage County law enforcement, so we didn’t quite get to see everything they would have shown us,” he added.

However, scenarios such as this prepare for the worst possible situation and Woody is confident his staff learned quite a bit.

Bonham agreed. “Many of the deputies said they appreciate the training, but hope they never have to use it,” he said.

Fatima’s staff victims were Rob Hamilton, Jordan Schaffer, Albert Rieke, Kristie Scrivner, Ashley Ryan, Debbie Muenks, Kary Brunnert, and Amy Kemna.

Cpt. Shaffer led the Fatima exercise and was joined by Lt. Umar Yasin, Cpl. Sutton, and deputies Cottingham, Koons, and Trey Harris, along with Conservation Agent Chad Gray, Trooper Bruce Baker, cleared the buildings and helped victims.

This scenario ended after the gunman took hostages, and shot a trooper. The shooter was shot and killed by Agent Gray.