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School’s ‘active shooter’ drill alarms some staffers

Four staff members at Farmington High School reportedly made calls to the St. Francois County Prosecuting Attorney’s office Tuesday for “legal advice” for what they perceived as them being “unwilling participants” during an active shooter drill held during a professional development day.

According to St. Francois County Prosecuting Attorney Jerrod Mahurin, his staff told the callers to either leave the training or, if they felt it necessary, file a complaint with the prosecuting attorney’s office.

No complaints were filed. The callers stated they were only seeking “legal advice” on what to do.

Superintendent Matt Ruble said he first heard of staff complaints when he received a call from the prosecuting attorney’s office regarding the complaints.

Ruble said the training is part of the active shooter training required by the state of Missouri.

According to the Missouri Revised Statutes Section 170.315, which established the Active Shooter and Intruder Response Training for Schools Program (ASIRT), “each school district and charter school may, by July 1, 2014, include in its teacher and school employee training a component on how to properly respond to students who provide them with information about a threatening situation and how to address situations in which there is a potentially dangerous or armed intruder in the school. Training may also include information and techniques on how to address situations where an active shooter is present in the school or on school property.”

According to Mahurin, the callers said they were given safety goggles and “shot” at with an air soft gun during the training without giving their consent.

“Airsoft” guns are firearms, primarily made of plastic, that use compressed air or gas or electric or spring-powered motion to fire plastic pellets. The guns are designed to be non-lethal. Most airsoft guns are sold as toys, but some realistic-looking models are used for military and police training.

Dr. Ashley Krause, a member of the Farmington school district’s executive team, was sent over to the building once they received word the prosecutor’s office had been contacted.

The Farmington Police Department was aware the training was taking place. School resource officers were located at the building as well. Signs were posted in the building’s entryways noting that such training was in progress.

Krause said an email was sent to high school staff on Tuesday morning stating the training would be taking place in the building. According to Krause, the email stated staff had the option to not take part in the training.

Additionally, before the start of the training an announcement was made over the intercom stating the training would be taking place in that particular area of the building.

“It was announced there would be running, training and drills going on in that part of the building,” Krause said.

Staff remaining in classrooms located within the training area were asked before the training began if anyone would want to opt out of being “shot”.

Krause stated one teacher did indicate as such before it began.

“They had at least three to four different options to which they could have opted out at any time and did not have to go through the training,” Krause said.

The training was halted once word was received of the complaints.

Krause explained the reason it was halted was due to the trainer wanting to make sure everyone participating felt “comfortable with the situation.”

Ruble said the district has been holding trainings in the district since September at various campus buildings, without any staff voicing opposition to the training.

Click HERE to read active shooter statute

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