First responders from Lynnwood and neighboring jurisdictions, including Fire District 1, spent the night at Alderwood Mall for a mass shooting drill.
The training began at 10:30 p.m. Thursday night and finished around 1:45 a.m. Friday morning, Lynnwood Police Cmdr. Wes Deppa said. The drill included about 150 people, including role players, police officers from Lynnwood and other neighboring agencies, firefighters and EMTs from Lynnwood Fire and Fire District 1, North Sound Metro SWAT officers, SNOCOM dispatchers, mall security, Citizen Patrol volunteers, SERS radio support personnel, Support 7 and Faulk ambulance EMTs.
“This training is important because it exposes our first responders to a reality-based situation that helps them physically and mentally prepared for such an incident,” Deppa wrote in an email. “These training exercises always reveal ways police, fire and dispatch can improve how we work together to best serve our community in a time of extreme crisis.”
A full on-site scenario like the one is practiced every couple of years, though there are elements of the training that are ongoing throughout the year.
“The ultimate goal is to save lives by stopping the threat as soon as possible while providing timely and effective medical treatment to the injured,” Deppa wrote in an email.
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