CANYON COUNTY, Idaho — Police officers from across the Treasure Valley participated in active shooter training at Middleton High School to enhance student safety before the new school year begins.
Law enforcement agencies gathered in the empty hallways during summer break to conduct the drills, with Middleton Police leading the initiative.
"Those agencies all came out so that we could work on the tactics of working together for a large-scale event," said Nicholas Randall, school resource officer with Middleton Police.
Watch Middleton Police in action during the active shooter training:
The training follows the nationally recognized ALERRT program developed by Texas State University and the FBI, designed to equip officers with tools for high-stress emergency scenarios.
"It's a two-day course where we teach classroom concepts, review the history of active shooter events, and then run force-on-force scenarios to push participants out of their comfort zones," Randall said.
To create more realistic training conditions, student council members volunteered to play roles as injured victims. Officers practiced applying tourniquets and asking critical questions to assess injuries during the simulations.
"It doesn't matter if you're with police, probation, or juvenile corrections — everyone should feel capable of responding in these situations," Randall said.
Randall, who also teaches Stop the Bleed at the school, emphasized that this training represents a crucial first step in life-saving emergency response.
"It makes me feel safer because I know they've gone through different types of scenarios," said one student participant. "It's comforting to know they're putting in the work."
Another student added, "It makes me feel safe because I know how capable they are of protecting our school."
The training goes beyond standard procedure, according to Randall.
"We're putting our officers through multiple scenarios today," Randall said. "Each one is different and meant to push them — make them fail a little bit so they can learn and be better."
This marks the Middleton Police Department's first active shooter training conducted inside the high school, and they hope to incorporate it as a regular component of their emergency preparedness plans.
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