05/06/2026
Thank you to everyone who helped plan, support, and participate in Thursday’s active shooter exercise at Athens Middle School.
The exercise gave local first responders, Athens ISD, dispatchers, and support staff a chance to practice how they would work together during a major emergency.
Athens Police Chief Chad Allen said the training is important because serious incidents require law enforcement, fire, EMS, schools, and other agencies to coordinate quickly.
“To be ready for something like that, something we hope never happens, we have to train together,” he said.
Chief Allen said the exercise focused on an active shooter scenario, but the same training applies to fires, tornadoes, natural disasters, industrial incidents, and other emergencies.
"All of this training works together regardless of the type of emergency in what we call the incident command system," he said.
The exercise included more than 100 people on scene, with additional dispatchers and support staff working behind the scenes. It included the Athens Police and Fire departments, the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office, Athens ISD, UT Health East Texas EMS, the TVCC Police Department, and other area first responders.
The exercise was part of an ongoing effort to strengthen emergency response in Athens and across Henderson County.
