REXBURG − Officer Dustin Hirschi was outside his office at Madison Jr. High when he got the alert for an active shooter at the Ricks building on site. In a cool sprint, he rushed to the building that was several hundred feet away. He and the Principal rushed to the scene with reckless abandon and no concern for their own safety but of the safety of the children they were charged to protect. Once there, both realized it was a false alarm.
At the last city council meeting, Mayor Jerry Merrill gave special recognition to Hirschi for following practices and procedures and bravely acting despite it being a false alarm.
Hirschi is a police officer with the Rexburg Police Department who spends a lot of his time at Madison Jr. High School making sure students are safe.
Hirschi said faculty members have an active shooter alert on their phones that they can activate when there is an emergency. On that day, one faculty member by the Ricks Building activated the alarm by accident. She said her phone was in her pocket the whole time and didn’t know how it turned on. The alert said, “Madison Jr. High, Ricks Building, Active shooter.”
Hirschi said he was outside his office near the front entrance of the school building when he saw the alert.
“When I looked down and saw it going, I said ‘Good heck’ it kinda gets you going and holy smokes,’” Hirschi said.
He said he rushed to the scene and had one objective: find the threat.
At the city council meeting, Hirschi said he appreciated the hard work that the police department and the school district put together and the training he can go to and teach at. He noted both the police department and school district do a good job coordinating and working together on school safety.
At the council meeting, Mayor Jerry Merrill said they didn’t have a medal to give Hirschi but they offered candy and free passes to Rexburg Rapids for him and his family.