Photo: Getty Images
Metro Nashville Police officers are being praised for their response to the deadly mass shooting at The Covenant School in Green Hills on Monday (March 27), with one former law enforcement trainer calling them "role models" for other departments to emulate.
Former MNPD trainer Bob Allen spoke to FOX 17 about officers' quick and methodical response when a 28-year-old shooter opened fire inside the private school, killing six people before ultimately being fatally shot by police. This comes months after law enforcement in Texas, were criticized for their delayed reactions to the Uvalde school shooting in May 2022.
According to MNPD, officers Rex Engelbert and Michael Collazo, 4-year and 9-year veterans, respectively, were among the team of first responders who jumped into action and fired at the shooter.
Allen, who helped establish the department's active shooter training program, said the officers who immediately rushed into action with "no concern for their lives at all" is exactly how they were trained to handle a tragic situation like what occurred at The Covenant School. Even their communication, both verbally and via body language seen through body camera footage, was called "outstanding" and something to be proud of.
"You know when they were doing a 'squeeze up,' which means I grabbed your arm and squeeze you so you know to go, or whether they're verbally saying 'alright man, you're up, go go go,'" he said. "Here in the video, he says 'I need two,' it means I need [two] more people on my hip. So we go around this corner, we can fix this threat efficiently."
Allen added, "I hope all the people that saw how these officers responded, go, hey, how do we do that? How can you make us do that?"
Three children and three adult staff members were killed on Monday when a shooter went on a rampage inside The Covenant School. The six victims include Evelyn Dieckhaus, William Kenney and Hallie Scruggs, all 9 years old, as well as 61-year-old custodian Michael Hill, 61-year-old substitute teacher Cynthia Peak, and 60-year-old head of school Katherine Koonce.