Preparing for the worst-case scenario

OSHKOSH - With mass shootings making headlines across the country, some local law enforcement departments are preparing for the worst-case scenario.

A husband holds his wife at gunpoint outside the courtroom. Victims lie on the floor with gunshot wounds.  And officers try to defuse the situation.

This is only a practice scenario, but Winnebago County Sheriff John Matz told FOX 11 it's something that could actually happen.

"Can be a very volatile situation at the courthouse, specifically in family court," said Matz.

The Winnebago County Sheriff's Department, Emergency Management, the Oshkosh Police Department and courthouse employees took part in Monday's exercise at the courthouse.  Everyone had their part to play.

"What we can do both with our response and employees' response, as well as enhancing the building's security," explained Matz.

Emergency Management Director Linda Kollmann told us the staging helps make a response second-nature in a real life event.

"There's been about a month of training with all the different offices in here and then this is the end result.  What they'll do is test the training they receive," said Kollmann.

According to Kollman the courthouse provides unique challenges because of its size, layout and age, so communication is key.

"Communication always. We're not sure how one floor will let the other floor know there is an incident going on in their area. We want to test the PA system throughout the building, things like that," explained Kollmann.

And Matz told us, most importantly, this kind of training gives individual officers more confidence to act immediately.

"To eliminate the shooting as quickly as possible and you don't wait for a group of officers to get there.  You handle it as quickly as you can," explained Matz, to ensure there are as few victims as possible.