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ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Residents near the Minnie Howard campus of Alexandria City High School should expect a heavy emergency response presence Thursday for a planned training exercise — not an actual emergency.
The Alexandria Police Department, Alexandria City Public Schools and other emergency management partners will run an incident response exercise at the campus, 3775 W. Braddock Road, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 13. Law enforcement, fire and emergency medical vehicles and personnel will be in the area throughout the day.
ACPS staff and participating agencies will practice responding to an active violence incident. No students will be present.
The drill comes 11 days before ACPS students return to class on Monday, Aug. 24 — a window when buildings are accessible but empty of students.
The city asks community members to avoid the area, and says only authorized participants should be on the campus during the exercise.
"These exercises help the City, ACPS and our regional partners strengthen coordination, evaluate emergency procedures and improve our collective readiness to protect students, staff, and the community," APD said in its notice.
