M-DCPS, North Miami police hold active shooter drill ahead of school year

Similar drills to take place this summer across county

NORTH MIAMI, Fla. – With the new school year less than a month away Miami-Dade Schools Police along with the North Miami Police Department joined forces Tuesday to participate in an active shooter drill.

Miami-Dade County Public Schools Superintendent Alberto Carvalho was also on-hand, stressing that these drills are necessary to protect all students.

The drill was held at North Miami Senior High School. 

North Miami police Chief Larry Juriga said the officers practiced responding to a school shooter by neutralizing the subject immediately before placing tourniquets on the victims, doing chest compressions and evacuating the buildings.

The drill was all in the name of safety for the upcoming school year.

"It is a necessary inconvenience that is stressful (and) hard-hitting to ensure absolute preparedness in a real scenario," Carvalho said. "Without doing this, in a real contextually-relevant environment, we are not as prepared as we should be."

As a part of that safety plan, there will be a police presence in all Miami-Dade County public schools, which now includes elementary schools.

Carvalho said he also isn't ruling out metal detectors. 

"There are some logistical, legitimate challenges associated with that, but I think it's an idea we cannot ignore and we ought to explore the latest technologies that are currently available," he said.  

Carvalho said similar drills as Tuesday's will be taking place across the county this summer. 


About the Author:

Sanela Sabovic joined Local 10 News in September 2012 as an assignment editor and associate producer. In August 2015, she became a full-time reporter and fill-in traffic reporter. Sanela holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in communications with a concentration in radio, television and film from DePaul University.