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RTV6’s Stephanie Wade contributed to this report.

SHELBYVILLE, Ind.–A month after a shooting at Noblesville West Middle School middle school, Shelbyville schools held an active shooter drill at Shelbyville High School Wednesday, and several changes are still being made to keep their students safe. 

“With the Noblesville incident, it hits home,” said Andy Hensley, safety specialist for Shelbyville schools, talking with RTV6. “It’s pretty sobering when you’re listening on the radio back here, kids down, kids being shot, kinda makes the hair on your arms stand up.”

The drill was the largest-scale training exercise the school system has ever put on. The Shelbyville Police Dept., Fire Dept., Shelby County Sheriff’s Dept., and the Emergency Management Association participated in the drill.

They made it as real as possible, using real students. It was not for dramatic effect, but try and truly simulate an active school shooter situation, so they could test the reactions of people and equipment.

“Our radios: do they work? Do they cut out on us? Can too many people get on board with them?” said Lt. Michael Turner, with Shelbyville Police. “The hospital’s part of this as well, where they will actually take patients over there to evaluate.”

“I’ve got blood on my thigh, a gunshot wound,” said one student who participated. She was part of a group that lay in the hallway as police entered. She screamed while police yelled, “where’s the shooter?”

“I got an adrenaline rush,” said another student. “I was thinking to myself the whole time, this could be real. This could happen. You just never know.”

But, the purpose was to evaluate and make changes. Some of those changes could include a better way for police to get in during a lockdown and figuring out where to send parents to pick up the kids.

“There’s some people that say they don’t feel safe in schools. But, the drills and stuff like that thet we’re doing now, I feel safer,” concluded one of the seniors who participated in the drill.

PHOTO: RTV6