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in si de ha lto n. co m O ak vi lle B ea ve r | T hu rs da y, M ay 16 ,2 01 9 | 34 Gunshots echoed throughout the halls of Oak- ville's Hope Bible Church on Wednesday, May 8, but fortu-Wednesday, May 8, but fortu-W nately they were of the sim- ulated variety. The Great Lakes Boule- vard church was the site of a training exercise for the Hal- ton police tactical rescue unit, as well as the police ser- vice's crisis negotiators and incident command unit. In a reflection of grim cur- rent events, the officers en- gaged in a training scenario in which multiple suspects were engaged in a mass shooting within a house of worship. "With the events going on in the world I think this is very timely," said Staff Sgt. Bruce Dickson who was overseeing the event. "These events test our communication and ensures that if we ever did have a situ- ation like this all of our units and emergency services would be working together to resolve it." Dickson said staff at Hope Bible Church reached out to police and volunteered their facility for use in policefacility for use in policef training. The exercise, which involved around 50 of- ficers, began with a group officers, began with a group off four tactical team members,four tactical team members,f all armed with automatic weapons, entering a chaotic scene inside the church. Injured and panicking ci- vilians (played by Halton po- lice auxiliary officers) run toward the team, screaming for help.for help.f "He's got a gun," one man yells. Other dead and wounded civilians lie on the ground, while gunshots from the sus- pects (also played by Halton police) can be heard coming from another part of thefrom another part of thef building. The tactical team moves past the wounded since help- ing them will be the job of the officers that follow. "Our first units going in, their priority is to locate the suspects and deal with the threat," said Dickson. "Any additional units coming in are going to try to secure the area and triage and take care of any victims and get EMS or our tactical paramedics in to deal with the victims." The tactical team eventu- ally makes contact with the suspects and gunfire is ex- changed. While no live ammuni- tion is used, the explosive sound of the blanks make POLICE HOLD MASS-SHOOTING RESPONSE TRAINING DAVID LEA dlea@metroland.com NEWS See - page 35 Start Your New Life In Your New Home Find a place to call home We'll help you find your perfect match! a division of Metroland Media Group Ltd.