AI-written summary of reporting by New York Post. No human editor reviewed this. AI can misread or omit facts — read the original, linked below.
ABSTRACT

The Highlands County Sheriff's Office in Florida posted a video last Tuesday showing civilian academy participants responding to a simulated mass shooting, in which community members fired blanks from training pistols while an actual school deputy played the role of an active shooter.

New York Post

Highlands County Sheriff's Office posts video of civilian academy mass shooting drill

Highlands County Sheriff's Office posts video of civilian academy mass shooting drill
Aug 20, 2026, 8:37 PM

The Highlands County Sheriff's Office in Florida posted a video last Tuesday showing civilian academy participants responding to a simulated mass shooting, in which community members fired blanks from training pistols while an actual school deputy played the role of an active shooter.

Context

The exercise is part of a six-week civilian academy program run by the Highlands County Sheriff's Office to give residents a behind-the-scenes view of modern law enforcement. Participants are community members, including retired teachers and public sector employees, and are not seeking careers in law enforcement.

The simulation took place during the program's second week, which focused on the school resource unit. Explorer Cadets — youths interested in law enforcement careers — acted as screaming students during the drill. The area was equipped with devices the sheriff's office calls 'shot boxes,' which emit strobe lights and the sound of simulated gunfire.

Participants were also required to unlock doors with keys during the exercise. The sheriff's office stated that a person loses 30% of their fine motor control in high-stress, life-or-death situations, and said unlocking doors under those conditions is part of both the civilian drill and actual school resource deputy training.

Gloria Rabynski, 49, a member of the Highlands County Board of County Commissioners, took part in the academy. She said she joined to better understand law enforcement's role in the community.

All Perspectives
Highlands County Sheriff's Office spokesperson: "Every year they're surprised at how nervous they got, how much their heart rate got up, how much their adrenaline went up. And that's a lot of what you see with the smiles, that's like a nervous laughter. You know, when you don't know what to do, sometimes you're just kind of laughing at yourself. They know there's no real danger, but still." The spokesperson also said the door-unlocking element mirrors how actual school resource deputies train, adding: "Our deputies are not trained to wait for backup. They go. When they hear gunfire, they go to the gunfire."
Gloria Rabynski, civilian academy participant: Rabynski said: "Obviously I knew that it was an exercise, but I was just thinking like, 'wow, if this is me knowing that it's an exercise, I cannot even begin to imagine what our deputies go through in a situation similar.'" She added that she joined "to see the other side of the story" and to understand "really what takes everything for them to be able to do what they do," describing the decision-making process she observed as "unbelievable."
Gaps & Unknowns
  • The source does not state how many participants are enrolled in the civilian academy.
  • The source does not state how long the program has been running or how many annual cohorts have completed it.
  • The source does not identify the sheriff or name the specific school resource deputy who played the role of the active shooter.
  • The source does not state whether participants are informed in advance that a mass shooting simulation will occur during the program.
  • The source does not cite the origin of the 30% fine motor control figure.
Sources & Further Reading
  1. New York Post — original

Read the original at New York Post

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