Police officers and college security officials swarmed a building on campus three times to stop a reported gunman.
LAWRENCE -- For about 30 minutes Tuesday, police officers practiced storming a Rider University building in search of a gunman firing inside.
And while only a drill, with police using plastic guns, the exercises occurred while students roamed the campus as normal, making the setting feel authentic, one student said.
Student Michael Motuz was inside the building for the first scenario - officers completed three - and after loud speakers crackled with the sound of gunfire, officers started yelling commands, he said.
As he took cover with others, he quickly learned the value of decision making under fire.
"We learned a lot," Motuz said. "Some things worked better than others as we barricaded ourselves."
"To actually physically do it was a really great experience," Motuz said.
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For example, Motuz said he was unaware at first that the police officers who entered the building had actually staged for a few moments while off campus, but they were still very fast in arriving.
"I was really impressed with the response time," he said. "I feel safe in the event, God forbid, something were to happen and we did have a situation like this on campus."
Rider spokeswoman Kristine Brown said the students' participation in the drills was also important for the officers responding, as they saw young people streaming out of the building.
Lawrence police and the Rider public safety department planned the drill, which was observed by police and public safety officials from Princeton University and The College of New Jersey.
- Staff photographer Michael Mancuso contributed to this story.
Kevin Shea may be reached at kshea@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter@kevintshea. Find The Times of Trenton on Facebook.