Expert: Training, planning made Bronxville false alarm response seamless

A security expert says the seamless response of dozens of law enforcement agencies Sunday night to respond to reports of an armed gunman at Lawrence Hospital in Bronxville comes from consistent training.
Peter Moreno, a former NYPD captain-turned security expert, gave high praise to the law enforcement agencies that responded to what turned out to be a false alarm at the hospital.

"We were very impressed with the fact that all these different agencies divided up areas of responsibilities, divided up floors in the hospital to search and clear, and it worked very, very well,” he says.

The scare came just days after Westchester County police gave a two-hour presentation at the County Center in White Plains on how to survive an active shooter incident. More than 100 county employees and members of the public attended the Civilian Response to Active Shooter Events training, also known as CRASE.

MORE: Be prepared: Police teach survival skills for active shooter situations 
Moreno says, as evidence by what happened in Bronxville, practice, training and having plans in place works.

“If you can get office workers, civilians, whatever establishment in that same kind of mode where your training kicks in your drill, it will be automatic and you will remember what it is that you're supposed to do,” he says.

Moreno says it’s crucial training that could save lives, and had it been a real emergency, the public would have been well-served by their efforts.