‘Active Shooter Exercise’ Staged At Canutillo School

CANUTILLO, Texas — The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office and the Canutillo ISD staged an “active shooter” exercise Tuesday morning at Alderete Middle School in Canutillo.

The purpose of the operation was to test the readiness of deputies and to test the school’s recognition of when to activate a “Code Blue,” sheriff’s officials said.

SWAT officers acting as role players were instructed to enter the school and walk around to see if any teacher or employee would challenge them as to what they were doing there. If they were deemed a security risk, a “Code Blue signal” was called by staff.

School administrators helped with the exercise, and letters had been previously sent out to parents about the exercise.

Responding deputies did not know this was an exercise until they arrived.

Officials said the operation was successful, as it prompted teamwork from community services and shift patrol officers. Sheriff’s officials said this training exercise was unlike previous exercises in El Paso in that the media, responding deputies and most school employees did not know what was taking place.