A week before the start of school, local law enforcement, fire fighters, and school officials spent the day thinking like a terrorist.
Invited by Independence Township Fire Department and Clarkston Community Schools, John Giduck of Archangel Corp. presented information on worldwide and domestic terrorism, especially as it impacts schools.
‘I’ve seen my share of blood-soaked classrooms,? said Giduck, Archangel Group’s president who researched and wrote a book on the 2004 terrorist school siege in Beslan, Russia.
‘The only way to stop that happening here is to get your head out of the sand.?
Those planning and carrying out these school attacks use the same tactics, whether ‘single student shooter? or ‘multiple terrorist hostage siege,? Giduck said.
They all want as much media exposure as possible ? that means more violence and killing than the last attack ? and they all consider schools prime targets, he said.
‘They want to make as big an impact as possible ? what makes a bigger impact than killing a bunch of children,? he said.
Schools all over the world, mostly in countries supporting the United States, have been attacked. In the United States, children use the Internet to learn from terrorists and school shooters.
‘They are constantly improving their tactics,? Giduck said.
American law enforcement, first responders, and those in the schools also need to learn from past incidents to prevent future attacks.
‘A mistake in the military has been to prepare for the last war,? he said. ‘Don’t make the same mistake and prepare for the last big attack on a U.S. school.?
Security measures developed in response to past school shootings are not enough for what may come next ? coordinated attacks by groups armed with assault-style rifles and bombs.
Terrorist training camps would not be necessary ? attackers can prepare with information from the Internet and ‘the single greatest training tool? ever developed ? first-person shooting games on home computers and consoles, he said.
Today’s police officer assigned to school security, armed with a service pistol and protected with light body armor, would not be able to handle that threat, he said.
Experts have worked for years to develop profiles and predictive models. His own theory: poll the students. Ask them to write down the top 10 fellow students most likely to carry out a school attack.
‘One group of people who are never surprised by who does these things are the students,? he said. ‘You’ll see the same 10 names. Even the people on the list will put their names down, because on some level, they want you to know.?
Police, fire, emergency, and school officials from all over the area, including Clarkston, Independence Township, Pontiac, South Lyon, White Lake, Oxford, Royal Oak, Center Line, Livonia, Richmond, and Oakland County, attended the all-day workshop.
‘Who knows where it will happen ? there’s no way to predict it,? said Chief Steve Ronk, Independence Township Fire Department. ‘We need to prepare for it.?
The session at Clarkston Junior High School Aug. 27 was intended as a reality check for local officials, Ronk said.
‘We would rather educate ourselves than let a terrorist educate us,? said Mike White, engineer/paramedic, Independence Township Fire Department.
‘Everybody needs to know this,? said Mike Stefanski, assistant principal at Clarkston Junior High School. ‘The it-can’t-happen-here mentality could get us in trouble.?
‘It’s a real problem ? people need to understand that this could happen in the United States if we’re not prepared,? said Bob Cesario, Independence Township EMS coordinator.