Police, Camera Crew Record Classroom Gunman Response

A camera crew wrapped up a three-day police training video shoot on Penn State’s University Park campus Thursday.

Four armed Penn State police officers were recorded in a drill responding to reports of an armed person in a classroom inside the Business Building on Shortlidge Road.

Penn State police Deputy Director Tyrone Parham told WJAC-TV Thursday that department officials will review the footage.

"We're actually able to look at our response today and see realistically, ‘Did we do this right?’” said Parham. “’Did we do things well?’ We're able to rehearse it. We're also going to look at how evacuation protocol goes in a panic."

Parham said routine training paid off last week when officers evacuated 500 students from Atherton Hall after a janitor discovered a suspicious package inside a closet.

"We knew what to do; we know all of the right people to connect with,” said Parham. “We knew how to get the messages and communication out via PSUtext in that situation. We went through, had (resident assistants) go through. We went door-to-door; making sure everyone was out of the building."

The discovery, a bottle with protruding wires and batteries, was examined by bomb experts and determined to be a hoax.

The training video will be edited and released by this fall.

Penn State police say the video will be available to regional emergency responders for training purposes.