The test started shortly before 9 a.m. The first police officers arrived on scene at about 9:06 a.m. to assist the on-site resource officer. The sound of shots being fired inside the high school building was heard shortly afterward.

Groups of students were hurriedly evacuated from the building.

Officers from the St. Clairsville Police Department and the Ohio State Highway Patrol were the first to arrive. More shots were heard at 9:09 a.m. Forces from the Belmont County Sheriff’s Office, Richland Township and Bellaire police departments then arrived, and more officers entered the building at 9:12 a.m. At 9:18 a.m. the sheriff’s office’s armored vehicle arrived on-scene, and at 9:19 medical first responders began entering the building and more students were evacuated.

A group of faux victims with distinctive “wounds” created with makeup were also observed gathering in front of the school.

Superintendent Walt Skaggs was available for comment as the action began winding down.

“This is our annual active shooter drill we do with the county first responders, with the state patrol, the sheriff’s department, St. Clairsville city police, Cumberland Trail Fire Department, Barton Fire Department and several other local responders from the area,” he said. “It benefits them and it benefits us. We also transport to the hospital so that (WVU Medicine) Wheeling Hospital as well as (WVU Medicine) Reynolds Memorial Hospital (in Glen Dale) have an opportunity to use this as a drill for their benefit as well.”

Skaggs commended city Police Chief Matt Arbenz, who worked with Resource Officer Michael Duplaga to set up the scenario using the Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate – or ALICE – system. He said smaller-scale drills are done monthly to accustom students and staff to reacting quickly and correctly.

“Once we initiated the drill, the response time was very quick. Our local police department showed up on scene first, and the shooter was eliminated within a few minutes of them arriving at the building,” he said.

“This was a single-shooter scenario that entered the building and fired upon staff and students. We immediately went into our ALICE procedures, and police responded and eliminated the shooter,” he said.

“You evacuate if you can. You lock down and you counter if you need to counter, if somebody gets into the room. Depending on where they were, we communicate over the PA system where the shooter is throughout the drill, and the staff acts accordingly. If they’re far enough away, if they feel they can get the students out safely, they evacuate the students. If they feel like they would put the kids in harm’s way if they went into the hallway or whatnot, then they lock down, barricade the room and prepare to counter.”

He said there were 10 “victim” actors involved with medical first responders.

Skaggs said the next step is a debriefing with law enforcement and staff to review any weak points. He said the school’s long-standing partnership with law enforcement has served the district well.

“I think it’s very beneficial that we open our facilities to our local law enforcement to train in the summer. They’re here in our buildings, they’re familiar with our buildings, and that makes a big difference when they have to respond in a situation like this,” Skaggs said.

He added that the district was able to purchase a new radio system using an $87,000 grant from the state.

“It’s really helping communication. No dead spots, which we identified last year, and that’s why we applied for the grants.”

Classes resumed in the early afternoon.

Chief Deputy James Zusack of the Belmont County Sheriff’s Office was there during the drill.

“They really did a good training. It shows that they care for their safety. We were invited to training, which is good because our officers got a little bit of training also,” he said. “In this type of training, it’s hard to ever make it as realistic as the real thing. You try to make it close to it. … Just going through the steps and knowing what to do and working with other agencies is a good thing.”

Arbenz could not be reached for comment.

Mayor Kathryn Thalman later said that the city received calls from some residents who were unaware there was a drill planned. She encourages people to sign up for the Code Red automated calling system at the Belmont County 911 office, 740-699-0425, or the city utility office at 740-695-1410.