Sheriff Deputy Jacob Cobb guards a stairwell during an active shooter exercise at Stringfellow Elementary School. Photo by Adelia Ladson
He also told them that they need one location with somebody from every agency involved as a representative in that location.
Speaking about the shooting in Uvalde, he said,“ Nobody was in charge. There was no incident command. There was no command structure. I think that, that is one of the primary reasons that, that turned in to be such a mess.”
He said the fire department does a phenomenal job of creating an incident command structure, so they needed to take a lesson from them. He said the first firefighters on scene put out on the radio that they are taking command. He said it was very clear who was in command of the situation. He said the first law enforcement officer on the scene of a mass casualty event needed to take command regardless of rank or position.
He said a mass casualty incident can happen anywhere and first responders couldn’ t lie to themselves and say it will never happen here.
“ That’ s not our job. Our job is to be ready for it. …. This is the county, the city that you work in. This is the county, the city that you’ re responsible for. And whatever problems that arise, you guys are prepared for it,” Moore said.
Then, Moore went through in detail what needed to occur from the beginning to the end of an active shooting incident on the law enforcement side. safety to enter a‘ warm zone,’ we have to be prepared to protect them when we do. We have to be able to work well together on this,” he said.
He explained to the group what the law enforcement zone definitions were. A“ hot zone” is an active threat, a“ warm zone” is an unknown additional active threat and a“ cold zone” is when the building is deemed clear and no threat exists.
He said that, as a group, they had to figure out how to solve the problem of getting injured victims aid as soon as possible by either getting them to EMS or getting EMS to them so that more lives are saved.
“ Because that is the goal of every single person in this room. From dispatch to law enforcement, EMS, Fire, it’ s about how do we save more lives,” Moore said.
A law enforcement officer pulls a victim into a secure room while another officer stands guard during the active shooter exercise. Photo by Adelia Ladson
AUGUST 2025 MoultrieScene 41