What if? Active shooter drill

Posted on September 19, 2018

By ANGELA M. CASTELUCCI / Managing Editor

Eleven Taylor County High School (TCHS) students and faculty members were shot — with at least three confirmed dead — when a masked gunman stormed the campus Monday morning.

Eyewitnesses reported the alleged suspect, who was killed during a standoff with law enforcement officers, repeatedly shouted “Where’s my wife?!” as he stalked the hallways.

The investigation into the mass shooting remains underway and the identities of the victims have not been released pending notification. The shooting suspect had not been identified as of presstime.

The campus remained on lockdown for several hours as anxious parents crowded around barricades blocking access to the area.

Once the scene was secured, students and teachers were transported by school buses to an off-site location, where they were reunited with their families.

Early reports indicate the suspect was armed with a handgun and shotgun during the attack. A school resource deputy was airlifted from the scene, and several students were transported by ambulance to Doctors’ Memorial Hospital.

An officer on scene, who asked not to be identified, said the suspect was cornered in a hallway on the second floor of the school where he opened fire on responding officers. The man was shot and killed during the exchange.

The entire attack lasted 11 minutes.

This chilling scenario of a deadly school shooting rampage played out Monday morning during a live active shooter drill at TCHS. Well over 100 people — teachers, students, police officers, deputies, EMTs, firefighters and school district personnel — took part in the exercise, which was coordinated by the school district, all local first responder agencies and the Florida School Board Insurance Trust.

PHOTO: Local first responder agencies partnered with the school district to stage a live active school shooter drill Monday at Taylor County High School. The armed “gunman” burst through the front doors of the school and began firing at everyone who crossed his path.

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