The Daily News

Shortly after 2:30 p.m. Thursday, students and faculty at Circle of Nations School were warned via intercom of a shooter on campus. Seconds later, they were reassured it was just a drill.

E-mails and text messages to faculty followed, just as they would in a real scenario, of the drill that was then in full operation.

Although required by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the school shooting drill was designed for safety reasons — to give all on campus an idea of what they should do if a shooter were to actually invade Circle of Nations.

After a school shooter drill at Circle of Nations Thursday afternoon, Richland County Investigator Josh Beto addressed students and staff on how it went and answered any questions they had. Beto emphasized to the students the importance of being cautious and being on lockdown and never opening the door of a room they are in. Photo by Erin Hevern Advertisement

"We're doing it basically to see where the shortcomings are so we can improve," said David Keehn, Circle of Nations principal.

"We're working to be prepared," added Circle of Nations Facility Manger Rob Peck, knowing full well in a real situation they could really only do their best.

Once the school was in full lockdown mode, Peck headed from his office to the building where all the classrooms are located to see if all doors were locked. Keehn tested the building's occupants by knocking on each of the doors to see if anyone inside would answer.

The rest of the crisis management team, which includes RJ and Tanner Rabbithead, Don Viele and Joe Williams, were in the dormitories on campus performing the same procedures.

Soon after the warning of a shooter on campus, a 911 call was made, sending over Richland County Investigator Josh Beto, North Dakota State College of Science Chief of Police Steve Schmitz and Wahpeton Police Officer Tim Appell.

All three law enforcement officials worked with the crisis management team in pin-pointing key elements about how to best be prepared in a real situation.

"It's a big thing to plan and it can very easily get out of hand," Schmitz said. "It's a great start. You have your heads in the right place."

Beto questioned Peck, getting an idea of the scenario, first asking him if in their scenario there was gunfire or no gunfire. Whether or not there is gunfire is the key to how law enforcement would initially tackle the situation.

"If there is an active shooter and there is gunfire we are going to that gunfire," Beto said. "Our goal is to eliminate that threat."

If there was no gunfire, law enforcement officials would work slowly and methodically through the school checking out every lead to where the shooter may be at.

In a de-briefing following the drill, Beto informed students what they may see if they encounter a police officer. Whether there is gunfire or not "everybody we come in contact with will be instructed to put their hands behind their head and then may be asked to leave the premises," he said.

Law enforcement would also be dressed in tactical gear and possessing firearms of their own.

While students and faculty did many things well during the drill, there were a few key areas that should be improved. For instance, there were six unlocked doors in the dormitories and in one classroom a teacher was sitting directly at her desk and could be seen from the window on the door. No one, however, came and opened the door when it was knocked on, with someone asking to enter.

"By keeping that door locked you are keeping yourself safe," Beto said.

Because Beto himself has been working within the county for two and a half years to solidify a proper crisis management plan for school shootings, he knows it'll take Circle of Nations awhile to become more comfortable with their own.

"Things are evolving every day," he said. "As new incidents unfortunately occur, we learn from them."

A next step for the Circle of Nations crisis management team is to work through the kinks of the plan and try the same drill but with the scenario where they'd have to evacuate everyone on campus.

"We're going to follow our crisis plan through with counseling and everything," Peck said.

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