Monroe County hosts active shooter training ahead of 2023-24 school year

MONROE, Mich. (FOX 2) - While most kids are gearing up for another year of school, law enforcement is gearing up for another year of active emergencies and potential risks. 

With the Oxford High School shooting still fresh in the minds of many in Michigan as gun violence continues to hover over a return to class like a shadow, police agencies are practices for a reality they hope they never see - and must be prepared for when it happens.

"In my opinion, this was about as close to the true thing as you could get," said Sheriff Troy Goodnough.

Goodnough, who oversees county policing for Monroe was at the local high school Tuesday to oversee active shooter training years in the making. 

"They know the complexity of the situation. They know the vulnerability of our community if we don't prepare for a tragic event," he said. 

For Superintendent Andrew Shaw, it's unfortunate to oversee the education of a district's students with the air of concern heading into the new year. But to him, not preparing would be even worse.

"When we put the letter out to the community, letting them know what we were going to do, we put in there that it was sad we have to do this, but we know that if we don't practice and give the kids an opportunity to understand what it could be like and our staff, it's actually a disservice," he said.

Striking the balance between keeping students and administrators safe, and keeping them prepared, is a dance that officials around Michigan and the U.S. are performing. 

This year, the drills at Monroe High School were planned a year and a half in advance - before the Oxford shooting. Goodnough has used the tragedy to model their own training. In the scenario that played out Aug. 22, they looked for students with injuries and even fatalities, before then neutralizing the threat.

"We had a command center set up here so we could watch the halls and just seeing everybody move about, it was surreal because it was like this is what could happen," he said.

Goodnough hopes to see through more trainings in the county.