Active Assailant Drill At Rose State College Friday, March 24 Published March 20, 2023

Planned safety exercise offers essential training to emergency responders in Midwest City 

On Friday, March 24, Rose State College (Rose State) will conduct an Active Assailant Full-Scale Exercise with emergency responders in Midwest City. 

“Rose State is proud to be a training site in partnership with Midwest City police, fire and hospitals to run a large-scale drill providing essential training for our community and emergency responders,” Rose State College President Dr. Jeanie Webb said. “We want the community to be aware of this drill on Friday, March 24, to ensure no one is alarmed as the sight and sounds will be very realistic.” 

This exercise will involve a response by Midwest City Police, Midwest City Fire, the Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Department and SSM Health St. Anthony Hospital. During the drill, Midwest City Police will conduct a simulated “attack” on the campus of Rose State College in which approximately 10 to 15 participants will be “wounded.” In response, police officers will neutralize the threat while the fire department and SSM Health St. Anthony Hospital provide a faux triage with assessment and transportation of victim participants. 

The exercise begins at 8:30 a.m. with an emergency alert distributed to the campus community regarding an active assailant, where participants in the “drill zone” will follow “hide” procedures, which include hiding in a room, turning out the lights, locking the door and remaining quiet. The drill will be lifted approximately 30 minutes later via a campus alert stating that campus operations can resume normally. 

Simultaneously, participants in the “response zone” will undergo the active assailant response training from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. This exercise will be highly realistic, employing an active assailant actor, provided by Midwest City Police, who will be firing blank ammunition from a rifle. The assailant is expected to traverse the western mall before entering the Student Services Building and Jeanie Webb Student Union while testing doors to see if they are unlocked. Victims, represented by student volunteers, will be present, as will first responders. 

Throughout the exercise, a firearm with blank ammunition will simulate realistic sights and sounds as public safety responds to the notional attack. For those who may experience significant distress or discomfort during any part of the exercise, there will be a method to extract from the event safely. 

“This type of training at Rose State allows us to test our systems and processes and will help enhance emergency response procedures in our community, as safety is our top priority for those on our campus,” Dr. Webb continued. 

Rose State will have personnel present to reassure any onlookers of the drill exercise to minimize any confusion. The Rose State Student Services Building, Jeanie Webb Student Union and a portion of the western mall will be closed until noon for the exercise on Friday, March 24.