Lanier Tech holds 'active shooter' drill on Cumming campus

CUMMING - Lanier Technical College held an "active shooter" evacuation drill on its Cumming campus recently.<br /> <br /> The purpose of the drill was to practice an evacuation of the college protocol developed by the college and local law enforcement agencies, including the Forsyth County and Dawson Sheriffs' Departments, and Security Advisors from the Technical College System of Georgia.<br /> <br /> Every room--office, restroom, classroom, storage room, stairwell, nook and cranny-was opened and searched for "survivors", then the occupants were directed by law enforcement officers to secure, safe staging areas on the Forsyth Campus. <br /> <br /> Captain Harry Chapman of the Hall County Sheriff's Dept. and LTC's Criminal Justice Lead Instructor, coordinated the drill for the College. At the exercise debriefing, Capt. Chapman explained that the exercise was designed to show "what worked and what needed improvement". <br /> <br /> Chapman noted, "We were pleased with the results of the exercise. We try to have some things fail to test what would be necessary to solve problems during crisis management situations. Problems that exist need to be improved or at least identified. We will continue to evaluate the effectiveness of our crisis management system."<br /> <br /> Although the College performance was very good, Lanier Tech President Dr. Ray Perren, said during the multi-hour debriefing that the College would immediately act on recommendations from the law enforcement and TCSG officials. Dr. Perren further indicated that similar exercises would be conducted at every Lanier Technical College campus.