Police, firefighters, sheriff’s deputies, school security and emergency technicians responded to a call at Pine Bluff High School’s Jack Robey campus Tuesday morning, but it was not for a real incident.
They were training for one.
The campus was the scene of a simulated pediatric/adult mass casualty incident organized by the Arkansas Department of Health and Emergency Ambulance Service Inc. It included first responders from Pine Bluff, state police and about 65 students from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences’ M*A*S*H* summer camps across southeast Arkansas.
“I think it went real well,” EASI operations director Dwayne Aalseth said. “Of course, we had some hiccups, but that’s just from not training beforehand.”
Foster Baker, director of security for the Pine Bluff School District, used a non-emergency line to call in a report that two shooters had made their way into the campus, when actually three did, during the drill.
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“We wanted to surprise (law enforcement) with the third shooter,” Baker said. “The first one actually surrendered, and they ended up killing the other two shooters. One of them was holding two kids hostage, refusing to give up his weapon. They kind of snuck around and got him on the back side. They did a really good job.”
While SWAT teams and medics had no idea how many people were in the building, agencies had to work together to determine whether the entire campus was clear. A member of EASI’s personnel relayed to a SWAT team from the sheriff’s office that had already swept the building some students had not yet been accounted for.
“That’s what we do,” Sheriff’s Chief Deputy Jimmy Hudson said. “The information wasn’t clear if (the building) had been clear or not, so we go ahead and double-check it by doing a secondary search.
“It’s good to get together with our agencies and see how we all get together and share information. I think it’s beneficial for everyone.”
Some of the participating students used makeup to apply mock gunshot wounds, while some simulated convincing screams for help and acted as caretakers for those not responsive until help came.
“As I was going around during the drill, I probably saw four or five deceased,” Baker said.
Chris Fallis, 16, portrayed one of the shooters found hiding in a janitor’s closet and talked out of further trouble by police.
“I wasn’t really sure what to expect, and then when we got to the church when we were getting ready and everything (someone) grabbed me and said, ‘Hey, do you want to be the shooter?’ I was like, ‘Oh, OK.’ I was surprised,” Fallis said.
“I was really nervous. It’s kind of hard to act as a shooter.”
Mass casualty incidents are rare but nothing new in Pine Bluff.
A 15-year-old ninth grader at the old Watson Chapel Junior High School was gunned down by a classmate. The student, Daylon Burnett, died two days later, and the suspect was sentenced to 40 years in prison after pleading guilty. The campus has since been razed and will be replaced by a new Watson Chapel High School scheduled to open for the 2026-27 school year.
“I would hate for a tragedy to hit our campus, but I’m glad to see our agencies are working together to have a plan in place to make sure if it happens, then they’ll know how to work together and have things done,” Pine Bluff High principal Ronald Laurent said. “(Former school superintendent Frank) Anthony used to say, ‘Prior planning prevents pitifully poor performance.’ And so, we have to have a plan in place, know our plan and work our plan. This was a good learning experience.”
The PBSD staffs six security guards around the Jack Robey campus, which is temporarily used as the high school until completion of a new campus on West 11th Avenue, also projected in time for the 2026-27 school year.
Laurent said he would review notes from the training, including how to make it easier for first responders to come through the building in such an emergency.
Aalseth said responders will meet Monday at a fire training center to debrief.
“Fire, police and everyone else will sit together and say, ‘This went well,’ or ‘This didn’t work well.’ ‘Change this’ or ‘Change that,'” he said. “But as far as the drill itself, it went real good to show us where our weaknesses were.”