In the wake of the Uvalde, Texas, school shooting, a review board of law enforcement experts is looking at what more could have been done. On the board is Orange County Sheriff John Mina, who responded to the shooting at Pulse nightclub. 

Mina is making sure that training and tactics at his agency are up to par. Spectrum News 13 got to experience the Orange County simulator firsthand.

Mina said it teaches you to react quickly, something he says the board’s probe of the Uvalde shooting will certainly include in its report. 

Mina said he believes things have changed since when he started in law enforcement 31 years ago.

“But if a shooting is happening in that classroom, they’re not waiting," he said of his deputies. "They are going right in to stop the threat."

With an active shooter scenario, Mina said his agency’s priority is to stop the threat, rescue the victims, render first aid and later secure the crime scene. Mina said his deputies don’t have to call for backup.  

“Our deputies have tactical command once they get on that scene," he said. "They don’t have to call the supervisor, they don’t have to wait for backup, they assess the situation, and if it’s an active assailant, they’re going in there to stop the threat and that’s their priority.” 

The sheriff invited Spectrum News 13 to take part in his office’s VirTra 300 stereophonic interactive simulator, located inside the Valencia Criminal Justice Institute. The program offers a 300-degree immersion that new deputies get to experience during their initial training — and that each is required to undergo annually.

Mina his deputies were given active shooter kits after Pulse. The kits include a vest that is armored with extra plates, a helmet and additional weapons that are kept in a safe inside schools. 

Mina said it’s an experience no one wants, but he hopes can help prevent tragedies like in Uvalde.

“The hope is that we will find out exactly what happened, tell the community exactly what happened and then learn from what happened there,” he said. “Improve police response and maybe prevent future tragedies.” 

Mina also noted that the Sheriff’s Office has access to every single camera at Orange County Public Schools. This means detectives and analysts can flip a switch and monitor thousands of cameras in an instant.