The sound of blanks being shot from police fire arms could be heard on campus Monday when the first phase of an extensive three-day training session for local police began.
John R. Emens Auditorium played host to approximately 25 armed police officers from several different jurisdictions. The officers were being trained in a real life situational counter terrorism exercise, according to Richard Mason, a representative from Direct Action Resource Center.
"We did micro scenarios in different parts of the building," Mason said. "We also did full run throughs."
Mason said Emens was a great location for the training exercise due to the complexity of the infrastructure of the building.
Representatives from Direct Action Resource Center, a training facility in Little Rock, Ark., were brought in to lead parts of the training.
Mason emphasized the point of the exercise was to make sure that everyone from the different police departments and organizations could work together well in case there ever was a situation that arose.
Daleville Police Department patrolman Dante Roque was a participant in the exercise and said he learned quite a bit.
"I was just here to learn to be able to adapt and work well with other departments," Roque said.
The main reason a training event of this caliber was held at the university is due to the prominence that the university has in the Muncie community.
"Ball State, unfortunately, is what we like to call a ‘soft spot' for terrorism," University Police Department sergeant David Bell said. "We're a major gathering point for a concentrated population in a small area."
Schools, workplaces and areas with large outlets for entertainment and sporting events are perfect targets for active shooters or other forms of terrorism, Bell said.
"We have a lot of buildings, and a lot of the public coming to shows and sporting events," he said. "We have people coming for classes on a daily basis."
This is not the first training event of this nature that has been held on campus. The most recent was in August, and event coordinators used Schmidt/Wilson hall as the main area for the training events.
Bell said using schools as training locations helps make the exercise as real as possible.
With past situations such as the tragedies on the campuses of Virginia Tech and Northern Illinois University, Bell stressed that being prepared is one of the best ways to try to keep instances like these from occurring.
"Thank goodness it hasn't happened yet but we are a very possible target for terrorism and active shooters, Bell said. "We like to be prepared."
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