Mass shooting exercise, ‘Operation Red Tide’ held at Narragansett beach
NARRAGANSETT — As part of a preparedness exercise, simulated gunshots rang out from the North Pavilion at Narragansett town beach, with volunteers acting as either victims or eyewitnesses of the shooting. The exercise, called “Operation Red Tide,” was intended to test local and regional capabilities of local police, state police, fire department, and emergency medical services (EMS), along with other town and state departments, in the case of an active shooter.
It was a seemingly accurate portrayal of an active shooter situation, with loud banging coming from inside the pavilion and volunteers ducking for cover. At one point, the “shooter” could be seen pointing his automatic rifle out of a second story window as the volunteers acted out different scenarios. Some even had very realistic gunshot wounds cosmetically applied.
Narragansett Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) was awarded a $21,000 grant through the Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency (RIEMA) to support a large fullscale functional multi-agency preparedness exercise. The grant, called State Homeland Security Program (SHSP), was awarded to help strengthen the response to an active threat with mass casualties.
In a press release, fire Chief Scott Partington said the primary goals of the exercise were to “test our local capabilities to respond to an active shooter incident with mass casualties at large outdoor gatherings or events,” “coordinate with other local responder’s, state agencies and non-governmental organizations to assist with incident management,” “provide patient treatment and transport,” and “recover from the incident by providing support and assistance to victims and survivors.”
“The exercise will assess our police tactical response, EMS abilities to triage, treat, transport, and track mass casualty patients,” Partington said before the exercise. “In addition to our on scene radio communications and overall command and coordination of an incident of this magnitude.”
And it appeared that the exercise did just that, with police officers expertly weaving in and out of the pavilion – just minutes after the simulated gunshots were heard – as ambulances arrived on the scene soon after. Volunteers each played their own part, some acting wounded, others dead, and even a few giving directions to the police as to where the shoot had fled.
After everything quieted down, a group of volunteers, treated as eyewitnesses, were even questioned by two police officers, who taking notes throughout.
With fake blood and cosmetic wounds all over, volunteers Nancy DeNuccio and Andrea Wilson said exercises like Operation Red Tide were important for the community to hold and take part in.
“It’s an important event. I think we need to have our first responders prepare for any kind of emergency. And if I can help out with that, that’s why I’m here,” said DeNuccio, the former director of Narragansett Prevention Partnership.
And Wilson, also a volunteer for Team Rubicon’s Disaster Response, said she volunteered for the exercise because “it’s important to get involved in community events and help with these events and volunteer.”
Team Rubicon is an international disaster response nonprofit that unites the skills and experiences of military veterans with first responders to rapidly provide relief to communities in need.
Katie Smith, another Red Tide volunteer, said she was doing so with her children in mind, trying to keep them alert both in and outside of school
“Volunteering for myself, as a concerned parent, just to teach them to keep alert outside of the schools, which is mostly where the attention has been given,” Smith said.
Smith is not alone in her concern. Narragansett is home to many large scale outdoor gatherings each year, with tens of thousands of people visiting the beaches throughout the summer. The town hosts many large outdoor festivals, events, concerts, and road races – such as the Blessing of the Fleet Road Race and Seafood Festival, the RI Philharmonic of the Beach, and Gansett Days.
RI Department of Health also evaluated the use of the electronic patient care reporting system during the exercise, particularly as it applies to the declaration of a mass casualty incident at the scene and the tracking of patients.
“Knowing if a patient had been transported from the scene and to which hospital is crucial to family unification. We intend to implement the State’s Family Assistance Plan during the exercise which focuses on providing assistance to families trying to find their loved ones following events of this magnitude,” Partington said.
Though the exercise took place in the wake of several mass shootings – such as the shooting in Parkland, Florida, and in Sante Fe, Texas – Narragansett Police and Narragansett EMA began planning Operation Red Tide over a year ago. The planning began prior to some of the earlier tragic shootings that had occurred, such as the Las Vegas and the Congressional baseball game shootings.