Police in Burlington, Vt., apologized after students were shaken up by a role-play robbery demonstration that included “a mock shooting.” About 20 Burlington High School students in a forensic program of the year End Studies (YES) Program visited the Burlington Police Department last week. During that presentation, the department put on a shooting simulation that included fake guns and came with no forewarning, reports NBC News. There were “screaming and fake gunshot sounds” and it took place “behind where the students were seated,” the Burlington School District told families. “As a result, some students believed the demonstration was real and were left feeling scared and confused," Police said the presentation was discussed in advance with YES Program officials.
Burlington police said the role-playing scenario “only involved three department personnel simulating a robbery scenario and was not directed at any students or faculty.” On May 23, police department staff and YES program staff “communicated about the details of the scenarios, including saying that the training incident would involve ‘using fake firearms in a mock shooting,’” police said. The department asked if such an incident would “be okay for your group of students? It is about as real life as you can get, and is certainly exactly the sort of thing we deal with most frequently.” YES Program staff responded: “I think these students will be fine with this simulation. We will give a heads up to parents and students.” The police department said, “First and foremost, the Burlington Police Department apologizes to any students in attendance who were upset by the specific scenario and crime scene portion of the presentation."