NORFOLK -- An active shooter had already killed ten people inside the base theater. Now, he'd taken a hostage.
The scenario, entirely fictitious under the annual Navy anti-terrorism exercise called Solid Curtain-Citadel Shield, played out Wednesday at Naval Station Norfolk.
Navy security personnel joined forces with Norfolk police, NCIS and the FBI to free the hostage and neutralize the gunman.
"Given the nature of the dynamic of the threat that's not only in the United states but throughout the world, we need to be able to respond quickly and effectively, and this gives our security forces the opportunity to practice those tactics, techniques and procedures," said Captain Doug Beaver, executive officer of Naval Station Norfolk.
Sadly, the active shooter phrase struck an all too familiar chord at the world's largest naval base, where, last March 24th, a real life active shooter attacked USS Mahan and killed Master at arms Second Class Mark Mayo.
Exercise organizers and participants say real world events, like what happened on Mahan and a stabbing last year on Naval Medical Center Portsmouth and the shooting spree at the Washington Navy Yard, speak to the need for constant vigilance.
"Vigilance is number one," said Susan Triesch, special agent in charge of the Norfolk field office of the NCIS. "We try to make these exercises relevant to the threats of the day. This is a perfect example of what might be a relevant threat today."
