'Active Shooter' Drill Held at Point Road School

By Christopher Sheldon

An "active shooter" drill was held at Point Road School on Tuesday afternoon in Little Silver.

The school partnered with the Little Silver Police Department to simulate what it would be like a shooter was on school grounds.

"The students knew what to do when they heard the announcement for this drill and we were very pleased with their ability to demonstrate that they knew what to do in this type of a situation," a letter from Principal Pamela Devine stated.

Devine said all the classrooms were locked with the students inside and moved away from the doors.

Devine said this is the second time the drill has been held this school year and there were some changes, including the fact that police were dressed in SWAT gear instead of their usual attire.

"This time the police moved one of the classes from their location to another location in the school so that they could practice what it would look like if they had to be evacuated," Devine said.

She said schools are required to have one fire drill and one security drill each month.

"Schools are required to hold annually a minimum of two of each of the following security drills: active shooter, evacuation (non-fire), bomb threat and lockdown," Devine said. "In addition to our fire drills, our next scheduled drill will be a ‘shelter in place’ drill which would typically be used to protect students and staff from airborne hazards outside the school building such as a nearby gas leak, etc."