It was a collaborative effort between the Council Bluffs police and fire departments, Iowa State Patrol, and others.

Council Bluffs prepares for worst with active shooter drill

It was a collaborative effort between the Council Bluffs police and fire departments, Iowa State Patrol, and others.

THE ELECTION OFFICE UNTIL JANUARY 2ND. WELL, WITH RECENT MASS SHOOTINGS AT BROWN UNIVERSITY AND BONDI BEACH, COUNCIL BLUFFS WANTS TO PREPARE ITS FIRST RESPONDERS. MONTHS OF PLANNING WENT INTO COORDINATING A SHOOTER DRILL AT SAINT ALBERT JUNIOR SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL. KETV NEWSWATCH SEVEN’S IZZY DRILL GOT A FIRSTHAND LOOK INSIDE THE ACTION. DESPITE A HOLIDAY BREAK, SAINT ALBERTS HIGH SCHOOL WAS FULL OF PEOPLE MONDAY MORNING. ALL THE WAY TO THE LEFT AND WENT STRAIGHT UP. THE SCHOOL WAS THE SITE OF AN ACTIVE SHOOTER DRILL, BUT NOT JUST FOR POLICE. COUNCIL BLUFFS POLICE DEPARTMENT, SAINT ALBERT SCHOOL. THE COUNCIL BLUFFS FIRE DEPARTMENT, THE POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE, THE IOWA STATE PATROL AND POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT COUNCIL, BLUFFS POLICE CHIEF MATT DAVIS SAYS TEAMS NEED EXPERIENCE COLLABORATING AND WORKING IN TANDEM. MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN PERFORM IN CONCERT, THAT WE BREAK OUT OF OUR SILOS AND WE SHARE INFORMATION. WE OPERATE AS SEAMLESSLY AS POSSIBLE. NOW, THIS EXERCISE WASN’T JUST LOCATED HERE AT SAINT ALBERT’S, IT WAS PART OF A CITYWIDE EFFORT. THEY TOOK THE INJURED TO THE LOCAL HOSPITAL, AND THEN THEY SET UP CENTRAL COMMAND AT THE CHURCH JUST DOWN THE STREET. BUT STILL, WITH ALL THE ROLE PLAYERS AND PARTNERS, WE WANTED TO MAKE IT AS REALISTIC AS POSSIBLE. PARENTS AND STUDENTS WERE EVEN INVOLVED, PLAYING VICTIMS OR CONCERNED BYSTANDERS. WE WANT TO TEST ALL COMPONENTS OF OUR RESPONSE SYSTEM, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN ADDRESS ALL THE ISSUES THAT WOULD PRESENT THEMSELVES. THE CHIEF SAYS HE’S HAPPY WITH THE RESULTS, BUT ADDS THERE IS ALWAYS ROOM TO IMPROVE. WE GET BETTER SO THAT IN THE EVENT THAT WE HAVE TO DO IT IN, IN, IN A REAL INCIDENT, THAT WE’RE READY AND WE CAN BUILD ON THOSE LESSONS LEARNED AND RESPOND TO THE BEST OF OUR ABILITY. DAVIS SAYS THE CITY INTENDS TO CONTINUE THESE DRILLS. HOPEFULLY IN OTHER SCHOOLS AROUND TOWN, WE TRY TO BE PROACTIVE TO GET IN FRONT OF THESE TYPES OF INCIDENTS. BUT AGAIN, THIS IS JUST THE WORLD WE LIVE IN AND THE LEVEL OF PRE

Council Bluffs prepares for worst with active shooter drill

It was a collaborative effort between the Council Bluffs police and fire departments, Iowa State Patrol, and others.

Updated: 6:18 PM CST Dec 22, 2025

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Despite a holiday break, St. Albert High School was full of people Monday morning. The school was the site of an active shooter drill, but not just for police."Council Bluffs Police Department, Council Bluffs Fire Department, Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office, Iowa State Patrol and Pottawattamie County Emergency Management," Council Bluffs police Chief Matt Davis said.Davis said the teams need experience collaborating and working in tandem."Make sure that we can perform in concert, that we break out of our silos and that we share information and that we operate as seamlessly as possible in the field," Davis said.Although this exercise was just located at St. Albert, it was a citywide effort. EMTs took the injured to a local hospital to practice triage protocols while law enforcement set up a central command center at the church down the street."With all the role players and partners, we wanted to make it as realistic as possible," Davis said.Parents and students were even involved, playing victims or concerned bystanders."We want to test all components of our response system to make sure that we can address all the issues that would present themselves," Davis said.The chief said he is happy with the results but added there is always room to improve."We get better so that in the event that we have to do it in a real incident that we’re ready and we can build on those lessons learned and respond to the best of our ability," Davis said.According to the police department, the city intends to continue these drills, hopefully in other schools around town."We try to be proactive, to get in front of these types of incidents, but again, this is just the world we live in and the level of preparedness that we all need to have," Davis said.

Despite a holiday break, St. Albert High School was full of people Monday morning. The school was the site of an active shooter drill, but not just for police.

"Council Bluffs Police Department, Council Bluffs Fire Department, Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office, Iowa State Patrol and Pottawattamie County Emergency Management," Council Bluffs police Chief Matt Davis said.

Davis said the teams need experience collaborating and working in tandem.

"Make sure that we can perform in concert, that we break out of our silos and that we share information and that we operate as seamlessly as possible in the field," Davis said.

Although this exercise was just located at St. Albert, it was a citywide effort. EMTs took the injured to a local hospital to practice triage protocols while law enforcement set up a central command center at the church down the street.

"With all the role players and partners, we wanted to make it as realistic as possible," Davis said.

Parents and students were even involved, playing victims or concerned bystanders.

"We want to test all components of our response system to make sure that we can address all the issues that would present themselves," Davis said.

The chief said he is happy with the results but added there is always room to improve.

"We get better so that in the event that we have to do it in a real incident that we’re ready and we can build on those lessons learned and respond to the best of our ability," Davis said.

According to the police department, the city intends to continue these drills, hopefully in other schools around town.

"We try to be proactive, to get in front of these types of incidents, but again, this is just the world we live in and the level of preparedness that we all need to have," Davis said.