Deputies to Stage Active Shooter Drill at Abraxas High

Deputies will take over Abraxas High School on Monday, weapons drawn, gunfire booming, as part of a drill to prepare for an emergency many schools have become familiar with: the threat of an active shooter.

From 1:45 to 5 p.m. at the Glen Oak Road campus, deputy teams will practice tracking down a gunman using mock firearms and gunfire sounds. Teen volunteers also will pose as wounded students, allowing firefighters to practice their response.

"An active shooter by definition is someone who displays the ability and willingness to shoot people indiscriminately and without regard to his or her safety," a sheriff's department news release stated. "It's a scenario that no one wantsto think about, but deputies are ready to respond in the event a real emergency occurs."

After the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in December, Poway Unified School District officials said they would take a deeper look into district emergency protocol. Since then, there have been at least two student threats of violence that put these plans into action.

Sheriff's spokeswoman Melissa Aquino said active shooter procedures are reviewed annually. Sometimes drills are open to agencies countywide, but Monday's event is geared specifically toward Poway Unified personnel and local law enforcement, she said.

Class ends early on Monday and won't be affected by the drill. The Sheriff's Department said fliers have been distributed in the community and there will be road signs to alert the public about the training so they won't be alarmed by the gunfire sounds.

In February, a 12-year-old Twin Peaks Middle School student allegedly sent an email to the school's principal, threatening to shoot a teacher and 23 students. The student was taken into custody before anything happened. 

In March, a Poway High School ninth-grader was accused of making a verbal death threat against another student and threatening to bring guns to school. This student, too, was arrested.