Windsor Vermont High School Used for Police Training

According to the Rutland (Vt.) Herald, the Windsor Junior-Senior High School offered shelter to Windsor County and Windham County police last week while they received training instruction on what to do when a gunman invades a school. The training is being provided by Vermont State Police, and is one of many being performed throughout the state of Vermont.

These training exercises are a result of school shooting incidents such as the one that occurred last year in Essex Junction. In that event, Christopher Williams allegedly brought a gun into the school, killing a teacher and wounding another in a search for his ex-girlfriend.

Detective Trooper Steven Otis of the Rockingham police barracks says the training is referred to as "active shooter intervention". The types of situation they are training for are those incidents similar to the one in Essex Junction with Christopher Williams from last year. According to Otis, training has also taken place at a nearby airport.

Randy Christensen, the school resource officer at Windsor High School, offered the school for training the police officers because he has experienced school violence first hand. Christensen worked as a police officer in Lake Worth, Florida when a thirteen year old boy brought a gun to school and killed a teacher. He states that while he and his fellow officers were well trained, they hadn't received training on what to do in that type of situation. He believes that training for guns and shooters in schools is essential to protect students and faculty alike.

Back in January, a teenager that was hunting squirrels near the middle school was mistaken for a threat. Officer Allison Forney of the Bellows Falls Police Department said that in that situation, "training would have been helpful". Part of the training would include how to separate threats from innocents, such as the hunting teen.