St. George Police Department seeking volunteers for active shooter exercise

Modern life can be terrifying. You could be walking the usual path of your life, but then something completely out of nowhere could uproot the entire thing in an instant. For instance, a disturbed individual with a gun could show up and ruin the lives of many.

Its every few days that the national news brings news of another active shooter taking lives. It's an all too common occurrence.

Gun violence related deaths were already over 200 in the U.S. this year on May 26 according to the Gun Violence Archive. Over the last three years, there have been over 600 mass shootings in the U.S., the BBC reported.

Utah's last known mass shooting was in Salt Lake City in Feb. 2007. Six people were killed and four suffered injuries.

The St. George Police Department have to deal with any kind of situation involving an active shooter, but this kind of preparedness requires a surplus of discipline and grit. This is why the SGPD will occasionally hold special exercises for the officers so they can take on any situation.

Such is the case with the active shooter training exercise happening June 7 and 14. Why do you need to know this? Because the SGPD are looking for volunteers to simulate the situations in the exercise with a higher amount of detail. 

So what could you expect if you were to volunteer? Well most of the details surrounding the exercise need to be kept a secret in order to give a more authentic reaction from the officers of the SGPD. However, some examples of possible situations include simulating chaotic crowds and riot-like scenarios. 

Basically, the more realistic it can be, the more prepared the officers of the SGPD will be once the situation presents itself in a real-world setting. 

If you or anyone you know are interested in helping the SGPD with their training, please get in contact with the SGPD (not 911) and fill out the volunteer form.

If we can help in any way with making our lovable St. George a little safer, it’s an absolute win.