Huge Murrieta active shooter and mass casualty drill scheduled for Tuesday

MURRIETA — Authorities are warning Murrieta area residents to be prepared for a huge, multi-agency, active shooter and mass casualty drill at Murrieta Mesa High School, Tuesday afternoon and evening, Oct. 23.

The regional mass casualty training exercise, which is scheduled from 3 p.m. until 7 p.m, after school lets out for the day, is intended to test critical communication capabilities and resource coordination, as well as expedited triage, treatment, and transportation of victims.

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The Riverside County Emergency Management Department is hosting the four-hour exercise and organizers are working to get out the word in advance so the public will not be alarmed by the sight of police cars, fire apparatus, air ambulances, and other emergency vehicles, swarming onto the campus during the simulation.

Murrieta Police Department, Murrieta Fire and Rescue, American Medical Response, Murrieta Valley Unified School District, as well as other emergency responders from throughout the region will be taking part in the drill.

Murrieta Mesa High School officials, staff, and students will also be participating and assisting during the training exercise, with some students acting as “victims.” The realistic training scenario will allow first responders to test their agencies’ emergency response capabilities to a critical, mass casualty event.

During the exercise, organizers say about 50 “simulated patients” will be transported by ambulances to surrounding hospitals and mannequins with “lifelike injuries” will be flown by helicopter to Riverside University Health System – Medical Center in Moreno Valley.

Because of all the emergency ground and air vehicles that will be responding to the drill, officials are warning that Murrieta motorists may experience traffic delays near Murrieta Mesa High School, specifically along Monroe Avenue, and organizers are asking residents near the school not to call 911.

“Exercise components will provide a platform for participants to work together and implement measures that could save lives in the event of an actual incident,” Murrieta PD said in a social media release. “The expected outcome is to refine policies and procedures while addressing immediate concerns during a mass casualty incident.”

For more information about this training exercise, contact Murrieta PD Public Information Officer, Lt. Tony Conrad at (951) 361-6309.

 

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Trevor Montgomery, 47, recently moved to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source and Shasta County News Source. Additionally, he writes for several other news organizations; including Riverside County based newspapers, Valley News, The Valley Chronicle, and Anza Valley Outlook; as well as Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County and Mountain Echo in Shasta County.

Trevor spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg, breaking his back, and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries in an off-duty accident. (Click here to see segment of Discovery Channel documentary of Trevor’s accident.)

During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations; including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center, and Lake Elsinore Station; along with other locations.

Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team, and Personnel/Background Investigations. He finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator and was a court-designated expert in child abuse and child sex-related crimes.

Trevor has been married for more than 28 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and his “fluid family” includes 13 children and 14 – but soon to be 16 – grandchildren.