CPD: Downtown Active Shooter Drill ‘Went Terribly Wrong’
July 18, 2019 at 2:15 pm
CHICAGO (CBS) — Confusion and the sight of lots of police cars caused a bit of commotion in downtown Chicago on Thursday afternoon after reports of an active shooter turned out to be a “drill that went terribly wrong.”
Police responded to reports of an active shooter Thursday afternoon at 225 W. Randolph St., but within minutes determined that was not the case.
“At this point it appears to have been an active shooter drill that went terribly wrong,” said Michael Pigott, 1st District Commander with the CPD. “A proper notification was not made to all people in the building. Apparently a text message went out. They were testing their system and people took that literally as they should.”
Police said that text started the chain of events bringing police there was a 10 minute time frame where authorities thought a real active shooter incident was taking place. The initial call to police did not come from the Chicago building, but then people inside the building started to call 911.
“There’s a safe way to do these types of drills. We’ll work with the building management to make sure they’re working on best practices,” Pigott said.
There are no reports of injuries.
In a statement, an AT&T spokesman said:
“A training class this afternoon caused a false alarm in the building. This was an instructional training video – not a drill or formal exercise. We’re grateful to the Chicago Police, Fire and Emergency Management teams for their swift response and we are investigating the incident.”
#BREAKING: NO ACTIVE SHOOTER. Mass panic and police response downtown at the 225 W Randolph building after someone on 7th floor reports “active shooter.” @Chicago_Police confirms that report is UNFOUNDED. Hearing on scanner this may have been a drill gone wrong. @cbschicago
Poster Comment:
We have these drills where I work. They holler "lockdown" and we all have to hide.
The simple way to solve that situation is by allowing staff to carry pistols. Now the question would be, are they trained to use them?
#1: Lod To: BTP Holdings (#0)
Lod posted on 2019-07-20 15:54:06 Reply Private Reply
#2: BTP Holdings To: Lod (#1)
Not too sure. But they have us doing active shooter drills where I work too.
Now exactly who would want to hijack the recycling shop I have no idea. ;)
BTP Holdings posted on 2019-07-20 16:30:00 Reply Private Reply
#3: Lod To: BTP Holdings (#2)
Lod posted on 2019-07-20 16:59:01 Reply Private Reply
#4: BTP Holdings To: Lod (#3)
When I worked for State of Illinois, I carried Mr. Glock in an inconspicuous black bag with some of my work things in it, like gloves and what not.
I also carried Mr. Glock locked up in a brief case when I drove solo in the big truck. I have heard a few stories of armed truckers scaring off the bad guys too. ;)
BTP Holdings posted on 2019-07-20 22:32:47 Reply Private Reply