OPERATION HILLTOP
ECU hosts multi-agency active shooter training exercise
Planning for the worst. Hoping for the best.
That was the attitude at East Carolina University as ECU staff and local responders participated in Operation Hilltop, a full-scale crisis training exercise that took place on campus Tuesday Dec. 18.
Officials from multiple agencies joined together to simulate an active shooter incident in Todd Dining Hall on College Hill Drive and a secondary threat of a car bomb in the parking lot of Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium.
“Crisis situations are unique to each campus and there is no cookie-cutter response. There are best practices, but no exact way to handle each situation. Exercises like this allow agencies who would work together in a real-life crisis the opportunity to see what works, what doesn’t, and make mistakes without a tragic outcome,” said Chief Jon Barnwell, ECU Police.
An ECU officer assists an actor pretending to injured.
Tuesday’s scenario involved almost 220 participants, including 40 volunteer actors who portrayed victims. Evaluators quietly watched what occurred to offer feedback at the conclusion of the exercise.
The training was designed to be as realistic as possible. First responders waited on a 911 call about the incident before going in to help. Actors were assigned roles that required them to evacuate, wait on police assistance, pretend to be deceased or injured, and be transported to Vidant Medical Center.
“We’re incorporating all that we can into this training – from the communication and ECU Alert emergency notifications to the response of law enforcement and the team at Vidant,” said Lauren Mink, ECU’s emergency planner.
The ECU News Services staff simulated responding to reporters and social media activity while sending ECU Alert updates to campus about the ongoing situation. An Emergency Operations Center was established and a mock press conference was organized.
“Our team plays an important role in helping get factual information out to the campus community and controlling rumors,” said Jeannine Hutson, director of ECU News Services. “Our hope is to never have to use this training, but we want to be prepared so we can have the best response possible to save as many lives as possible.”
The agencies who participated will take the feedback from the exercise to improve future training. ECU has previously hosted multi-agency active shooter scenarios and regularly partners with local first responders for training, but this is the first time ECU has participated in an exercise of this size.
In addition to several departments at ECU, the Greenville Police Department, Greenville Fire/Rescue, State Bureau of Investigation, Vidant Medical Center, Pitt County Sheriff’s Office, Pitt County Schools, Pitt County Emergency Management, N.C. Emergency Management, ECU Emergency Medicine, UNC System, N.C. National Guard and Eastern Healthcare Preparedness Coalition participated.
ECU worked with consulting firm All Clear Emergency Management to coordinate the training.
Approximately 220 people participated in the training.