The Caddo Sheriff’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (OHSEP) will host an active shooter training exercise Tuesday at Barret Paideia Academy in the Highland neighborhood.
The event will be an exercise specifically designed to test and enhance the cooperation and readiness of first responders in Caddo Parish and the City of Shreveport. Participants will practice operating under the Unified Command System (USC) to provide a seamless, coordinated response when multiple agencies are involved in an emergency. The UCS is designed to produce effective incident management by integrating a combination of facilities, equipment, personnel, procedures, and communications within a common organizational structure.
Caddo Sheriff Steve Prator, director of the OHSEP, said the drill will be carried out in several phases with briefings in between to allow responders to address areas that need more training. The phases will include the initial incident response, establishing command, deployment of the Rescue Task Force, simulated transportation of victims, and victims’ services.
“Regular active shooter training establishes a familiarity by working alongside other agencies in settings that could require a multi-agency response,” Prator said. “This would be a great benefit to law enforcement if we were called to a real active shooter incident.”
On Tuesday morning, Sheriff’s Deputies, Police, and Fire will meet at 7 a.m. on the south side of the Mall St. Vincent parking lot at 3595 Southern Avenue for a safety briefing. Once the call is dispatched, those participating in the drill will respond to the school at 2600 Barret Street. (Parking is limited at this location. Visitors and media should park at Prospect and Barret.)
Planning agencies for the exercise include the Caddo Sheriff’s Office, Shreveport Police, and Shreveport Fire/EMS. Other participants are academy trainers; patrol deputies, officers, and supervisors; School Resource Officers; DARE officers; communications; reserve and auxiliary deputies; media; and Caddo Correctional Center Transportation. Caddo Parish School Board Security, Louisiana Region 7 Hospital Preparedness, and local hospitals will also be participating. The Salvation Army will provide food and drinks during the all-day event.
