ERIE, Pa. – Marine Interdiction Agents assigned to Air and Marine Operation’s Erie Marine Unit joined a multi-agency team to conduct an active shooter drill at a local school on February 19.
receive briefing before active shooter drill.
Marine Interdiction Agents from the Erie Marine Unit worked with a team of 30 law enforcement officers including Pennsylvania State Police, Erie County Sheriff’s office, local police departments from Girard and Lake City, and agents from U.S. Border Patrol’s Fairview Station. The training was conducted at an elementary school in the Fairview School District during an in-service training day for teachers, while students were off for President’s Day.
“If an active shooter call goes out on the radio, every law enforcement agency in the area will respond immediately,” said Marine Interdiction Agent Jon Rose. “The training gave us all a chance to work and practice together, with a realistic training scenario. Teachers sat in classrooms while officers fired blank rounds in the hallways,” said Rose.
"It's something we practice a lot here in Fairview - we take it very seriously,” said Fairview Township School Supervisor Dr. Erik Kincade. “Our school board has put a lot of money into security and safety measures in our buildings, probably upwards of $600,000 or $700,000 dollars’ worth of cameras, hardening the glass, better doors, and different hardware and security systems,” said Kincade.
teachers waited in classrooms.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Air and Marine Operations (AMO) is a federal law enforcement organization dedicated to serving and protecting the American people through advanced aeronautical and maritime capabilities. With approximately 1,800 federal agents and mission support personnel, 240 aircraft, and 300 marine vessels operating throughout the U.S., Puerto Rico, and U.S. Virgin Islands, AMO conducts its mission in the air and maritime environments at and beyond the border, and within the nation's interior.