EBENSBURG, CAMBRIA COUNTY - It's a drill everyone wishes wasn't necessary, but with the help of students, teachers and local law enforcement, Central Cambria's making sure they are prepared.
"Words can't describe how vital it is because just looking in the auditorium where we had our table top discussion this morning there's a lot of concern and questions unanswered," Central Cambria Superintendent Dr. Vincent DiLeo says.
Following the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary, Central Cambria immediately took a look at their security plan, and the idea of having an active shooter drill was at the top of their list.
"This is as realistic as it can get without the real event.," Commander of the Cambria County SERT Team Thomas Owens says.
Two shooters entered the school and opened fire. Students and teachers went into lockdown, while law enforcement tracked the suspects.
It's just worked out far beyond what I hoped and I'm hoping that we learn a lot from this along with the police departments and emergency services.
Close to 80 students volunteered to take part in the drill on what was a scheduled day off.
They say this kind of practice was too good to pass up.
"You can apply this if you were anywhere whether it's at the mall or a different school. Learning to react in this situation would prove to be really helpful," Central Cambria Senior Punjari Vyas says.
"If it happens at other people's schools it can happen anywhere and we don't want that to happen and if we're more prepared everything will go great," Central Cambria Senior Nick Myers says.
And with the shooters secure and students safe this practice could save people's lives if next time, it 's the real thing
"Hopefully it never ever happens, but to put your head in the sand and ignore the fact that it's a possibility is something this schools administrators haven't done,"
Officials say this is the first active shooter drill in Cambria County to involve both students and faculty.
"Words can't describe how vital it is because just looking in the auditorium where we had our table top discussion this morning there's a lot of concern and questions unanswered," Central Cambria Superintendent Dr. Vincent DiLeo says.
Following the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary, Central Cambria immediately took a look at their security plan, and the idea of having an active shooter drill was at the top of their list.
"This is as realistic as it can get without the real event.," Commander of the Cambria County SERT Team Thomas Owens says.
Two shooters entered the school and opened fire. Students and teachers went into lockdown, while law enforcement tracked the suspects.
It's just worked out far beyond what I hoped and I'm hoping that we learn a lot from this along with the police departments and emergency services.
Close to 80 students volunteered to take part in the drill on what was a scheduled day off.
They say this kind of practice was too good to pass up.
"You can apply this if you were anywhere whether it's at the mall or a different school. Learning to react in this situation would prove to be really helpful," Central Cambria Senior Punjari Vyas says.
"If it happens at other people's schools it can happen anywhere and we don't want that to happen and if we're more prepared everything will go great," Central Cambria Senior Nick Myers says.
And with the shooters secure and students safe this practice could save people's lives if next time, it 's the real thing
"Hopefully it never ever happens, but to put your head in the sand and ignore the fact that it's a possibility is something this schools administrators haven't done,"
Officials say this is the first active shooter drill in Cambria County to involve both students and faculty.
