Area agencies to conduct active assailant training
Emergency medical technicians check on one of the persons portraying a deceased shooter outside a classroom at the Gladstone High School during an active shooter drill in August 2024. (Daily Press file photo)
Sergeant Joshua Meyette of Escanaba Public Safety gathers information from people who had been in the cafeteria of the Escanaba Junior/Senior High School when the mock "shooter" appeared during an emergency drill in August 2025. In the background, other EPS officers, along with members of the Michigan State Police and Delta County Sheriff's office, await orders. (Daily Press file photo)
Emergency medical technicians check on one of the persons portraying a deceased shooter outside a classroom at the Gladstone High School during an active shooter drill in August 2024. (Daily Press file photo)
Sergeant Joshua Meyette of Escanaba Public Safety gathers information from people who had been in the cafeteria of the Escanaba Junior/Senior High School when the mock "shooter" appeared during an emergency drill in August 2025. In the background, other EPS officers, along with members of the Michigan State Police and Delta County Sheriff's office, await orders. (Daily Press file photo)
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RAPID RIVER -- The public may notice an increase in law enforcement activity in the Rapid River and Menominee areas as multiple agencies conduct active assailant training exercises this week.
The Rapid River High School will be the site of a multi-agency active assailant training exercise on Wednesday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The training will be conducted by the Delta County Sheriff's Office and will involve multiple local agencies working together to practice and strengthen their response to an active assailant situation.
According to the Delta County Sheriff's Office, the training is intended to improve coordination, communication and emergency response capabilities among participating agencies and school personnel.
According to Deputy/School Resource Officer Kye VanDrese from the Delta County Sheriff's Office, this is the first time the Delta County Sheriff’s Office has been in charge of conducting a county wide full-scale exercise.
"This training is to provide a real-life scenario to make sure the law enforcement and other first responders know what their role would be in case something tragic would happen in a school setting," said VanDrese. "This training also is beneficial for the schools and their employees to make sure they know exactly what to do to protect the lives of their students."
Wednesday also marks the first time the county wide full-scale exercise will be conducted at the Rapid River High School. While the agency had previously conducted a law enforcement-only training at the school in years past, all of the agency's partner first responders will be participating at this exercise.
The Delta County Sheriff’s Office was a part of the full-scale county wide exercises at the Gladstone High School in 2024 and the Escanaba Jr/Sr High School in 2025, where law enforcement personnel and first responders prepared for an emergency event while simulating an active shooter situation.
"We want our role players and participants to have as much adrenalin pumping through their bodies as possible," VanDrese added. "So if, God forbid, we get that call for an active assailant they will know exactly what their bodies and minds will do under extreme stress."
The public is advised that emergency vehicles and personnel may be present in and around Rapid River High School during the training period. This is a planned training exercise, not an actual emergency.
The Menominee County Sheriff's Office also announced local law enforcement agencies in the Menominee area will be conducting multi-day active assailant training exercises in the City of Stephenson this week as part of a planned training exercise.
Residents may notice law enforcement activity and vehicles in the surroundings areas of Menominee area schools. Again, the increased police activity for the exercises does not indicate an ongoing emergency.
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Sophie Vogelmann can be reached at 906-786-2021 or svogelmann@dailypress.net.