GCS and Sheriff's Office Host Joint Active Shooter Training

Greenville County Sheriff’s Office (GCSO) and Greenville County Schools (GCS) hosted an Active Shooter Training to ensure that both law enforcement and educators are prepared to respond to an event of significant danger if necessary. GCS and GCSO have developed extensive emergency response plans and jointly conducted trainings for almost 15 years.

During the two-day event, deputies from GCSO and roughly 250 educators from GCS were trained alongside School Resource Officers from Greenville, Greer, Fountain Inn, Mauldin, Travelers Rest, and Anderson City Police Departments, along with Fire Departments from Piedmont Park, Taylors, and Wade Hampton. Greenville County EMS also participated in this educational training.

The educators and first responders received educational material on warning signs for potential school violence, district protocols for emergency events, wound care, and individual classroom scenarios, and deputies hosted a Q&A session with Law Enforcement and other attendees. In addition to the classroom material, the attendees participated in live scenarios with role players as they worked to render the school safe, provide medical treatment to victims and establish evacuations to initiate the reunification process. No students were involved in the training or live scenarios.

Both Sheriff Hobart Lewis and Superintendent Dr. Burke Royster understand the critical importance of continued education and joint training for these types of situations.

As put by Sheriff Lewis, "I grew up here, went to school in this district and had children who attended school in this district. While I have never experienced the type of violence that we are seeing in schools around the country today, I do understand we live in a different age now, and we, as first responders, must have the upper hand and remain prepared. We achieve that through continuing our education and training by participating in these events. I want to reiterate to every parent here in Greenville County that I promise we will continue making the safety and security of your children the priority of our responsibilities as law enforcement officers."

Superintendent Royster reiterated, “Greenville County Schools co-developed extensive emergency response plans and started training with law enforcement almost 15 years ago. We are grateful to Sheriff Lewis, our SROs and all of our law enforcement agencies for coming alongside us to ensure we are prepared as we continue to prioritize the safety of our staff and students each and every day. While it is absolutely necessary for all of us to be prepared to protect our students and staff in a worst-case scenario, school is still one of the safest places for a school-age child to be, and we are committed to maintaining a safe environment where students can focus on learning.”

GCS Safety & Security Page