CITY OF KATY, Texas (Covering Katy News) — Police officers and firefighters staged an active threat training exercise Sunday night, Oct. 19, at Katy Mills Mall, testing their ability to neutralize a shooter, secure the scene and treat victims in a coordinated response.
"Basically, the officers had to go in there and take care of the threat," Katy Police Chief Bryon Woytek said. "Then, once the threat was taken care of, we had to make the area secure to be able to bring in the EMS personnel. We paired up police officers with EMS personnel so they could come in."
A command center was set up near the mall so Woytek and Fire Chief Kenneth Parker could see how their departments met the test. The police substation in the mall did not get used for this purpose, Parker said, adding that the fire department has a substation nearby, at 25420 Bell Patna Dr.
How Katy police and fire departments coordinate during active shooter situations
Woytek said the pairing of police officers with EMS personnel ensured paramedics could safely evacuate victims to a secure triage location outside the mall. Officers also assisted with first aid when needed.
"From there, we'll start triaging and take people out based on the severity of their injuries," Parker said. "We don't want a medic unit sitting any longer than they have to, so it's an internal coordination. They might say, I need an ambulance here in two minutes, and then you have your casualty collection point and they'll come get the patient, load them and go. They don't hang out for a long time for safety reasons in case there's another shooter."
Third annual active threat drill held at Katy Mills Mall
Officials posted notices on social media, and throughout the mall, announcing that the drill was to take place. Woytek said the "victims" were high school students who volunteered to participate in the drill.
While the drill took place after the mall's 6 p.m. closing, the AMC movie theaters, on the south side of the mall, remained open, Parker said.
Both Woytek and Parker said Sunday's drill went well. At the same time, they are looking to see how things can be improved.
"We always walk away and learn something from it," Parker said. "If we identify any things that need to be worked on. Our goal is to get better at this every year."
Battalion Chief Jacob Duke and Officer Robert Hughes organize emergency response training
Parker said Battalion Chief Jacob Duke and Police Officer Robert Hughes worked for about a month to organize and stage the situation that firefighters and officers would have to address.
Woytek said Hughes is also the range-master for the police department, overseeing the department's shooting range and coordinating with other agencies who wish to use it for their training.
"Basically, we're stopping the threat, then we're stopping the bleed and treating the victims, and getting them out as fast as we can," Woytek said. "So that's really what it boils down to, coordinating the police and the fire departments to be able to go and treat the victims, get the victims out, and save lives."