Active shooter exercises scheduled for Sept. 23/30 in Pacific County

Numerous Pacific County agencies will be taking part in full scale active shooter exercises this month. 

The Pacific County Emergency Management Agency shared they will be working in conjunction with the Pacific County Sheriff’s Office, Raymond Police Department, Long Beach Police Department, South Bend Police Department, Pacific County Communications, Ilwaco Fire Department, Pacific County Fire District 1, the Raymond Fire Department, Naselle School District, Ocean Beach School District, Raymond School District, South Bend School District and Willapa Valley School District along with the Washington State Patrol, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Police and other partners will conduct a multi-agency active shooter training and crisis management full-scale exercise at two locations. 

The Pacific County Sheriff’s Office released an unrelated statement on Tuesday that following an incident earlier this year when an active shooter was reported near the Ilwaco High School, they have been working with other agencies on training. 

While that incident at the school was a hoax, officials say that after the response the agencies held several meetings to talk about what went well and what areas needed improvement. 

This included additional training conducted and resources added since that time throughout the area.

The upcoming exercises are only drills. To avoid any confusion during the events, PCEMA is notifying the public and community ahead of time. 

• The first exercise will be held Saturday, September 23 at Ilwaco High School. 
• The second exercise will take place on Saturday, September 30 at South Bend High School.

The exercises are closed to the general public.

The training exercise will focus on emergency response to an active shooter incident on a school campus and is being staged by PCEMA in collaboration with the agencies involved. 

It will involve a simulation of an active shooter on both campuses. The exercise goal is to test existing plans to assure a coordinated, timely and effective response in the event of a major incident.

Volunteers are being sought to act as role-players for both exercises.

Role-players under the age of 18 will need to have signed permission from a parent or guardian.

To volunteer for the Ilwaco portion of the exercise please contact the Ocean Beach School District at 360-642-3739.

For the South Bend portion of the exercise contact the South Bend School District at 360-875-5707.