The sounds of gunfire will ring out today at Abraxas High School in Poway as sheriff's deputies, firefighters, school officials and teenage volunteers conduct a drill designed to simulate a school shooting.
The 3 1/2-hour event will begin around 1:45 p.m. and consist of two teams of deputies making their way through the campus with mock firearms to track down a gunman, according to the San Diego County Sheriff's Department.
In addition to finding and disarming the gunman, deputies will practice evacuating the campus and firefighters will "treat'' the wounded, who will be portrayed by teen volunteers.
"It's a scenario that no one wants to think about, but deputies are ready to respond in the event a real emergency occurs,'' according to the sheriff's public affairs office. "The goal is to expose school personnel to law enforcement procedures so they know what to expect in the chaos of a real shooting scenario.''
