Drill: Police face active shooters in Port of Miami

The first shots were heard in the parking lot.

But within seconds, panic was already gripping the interior of Terminal J at the Port of Miami.

The sound of gunshots added to the screams and the desperation to escape death.

The presence of several armed men in one of the most strategic points in Miami Dade County set off the alarms and dozens of officers responded to this scene.

Fortunately, this is not real news, but the scenario is recreated as if it were. As close as possible to what police units could face, at any time.

This is an anti-terrorist operation that Miami Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties organize at least once a year.

Alfredo “Freddy” Ramírez – Miami Dade Police Director, states:

“What we do is work together on drills that are active shooters.”

Active shooters in scenarios not only to demonstrate police operational capabilities and interagency communication, but also to assess the response plans already in place for each type of situation. Any errors are corrected, especially when lives are in danger.

Arnold Palmer, Exercise Director, says:

“The idea is to train with the police and the fire brigade in case unfortunately one day there is a case.”

In port facilities. The agents were able to neutralize the assailants, but several people lost their lives under the gunfire and others were injured. For this reason, the second part of the operation consisted in evaluating the response of the rescue teams.

This is what worries us, said the director of the exercise. These are the things that make us lose sleep and represent our challenges, so we try to overcome them in these scenarios to know that we are ready and that in an emergency we can respond appropriately.