Terror In The Hallways, Gunman On The Property

"I have two bodies here, there's another on the floor in the bathroom."

Words they hope they never have to utter from the hallways of a local school, but ones that local authorities want to be prepared for nonetheless.

Nothing strikes fear in the heart of a community more than the thought of a gunman on the loose in a local school. The nation was devastated on Dec. 18, 2012 by the Sandy Hook school shootings. Since then, many law enforcement communities have taken extra precautions to ensure they are prepared should anything similar happen on their watch.

On Tuesday, a full scale training operation was undertaken by Monroe public safety officials to prepare for such an event should it ever happen. The exercise took place on the campus of the old Monroe Area High School - now occupied by Athens Tech.

According to Monroe Fire Department public information officer, Lt. Williams Owens, the city's Fire Department has teamed up with the Police Department every year for a "gunman in school" training operation. This year, Walton County EMS was involved in the exercise.

"This is the first time they've been involved," Owens said. "We're working up to a much bigger one, with many agencies involved. This is working toward that."

Owens said they hope to have the multi-agency training operation sometime next year. In the meantime, Tuesday's operation was made to be as realistic as possible. Officers were armed with paintball ammunition and the hallways were covered in smoke, simulating the lack of visibility that would likely occur in a real-world situation.