An Omaha charity said it regrets staging an active-shooter training with a gunman firing blanks at panicked employees who weren’t told it was a drill.
Denise Bartels, executive director of Omaha’s Catholic Charities, issued a prepared, four-paragraph statement Wednesday — a day after declining to comment to the World-Herald other than to say that the charity was cooperating with a police investigation.
“Our intention in holding the training on May 19 was for the safety and security of our staff and to prepare for the sad reality that organizations face today,†she wrote. “The health and safety of our staff, mentally, physically and spiritually, is our foremost concern.â€
The man who led the training, John Channels, 27, remained in the Douglas County Jail Wednesday after his arrest on five felony counts of terroristic threats and one count of weapon use. Police allege Channels convinced Omaha Catholic Charities directors to allow him to show up May 19, masked, wearing black and brandishing a semiautomatic handgun, and fire “blanks†in the presence of unwitting employees. He also staged “gunshot victims,†smeared in fake blood, around the organization’s new office at 9223 Bedford Ave.
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Bartels and her directors went along with Channels’ request to not tell the staff and to make the shooting drill “lifelike†— or deathlike, as it were. It worked: Several staffers told Omaha police they thought they were going to die.
Employee Sandra Lopez described hearing gunshots and having no clue what was going on. Lopez said she rushed toward a north exit door, following Bartels and a couple of other employees and loudly asking what was going on. “No one responded to her,†Detective Derek Mois wrote.
Two women said the “gunman†pounded on the window of a conference room with his handgun, then fired repeatedly at the window. They could see fire and smoke coming from the gun.
Four employees told police they saw a woman down, with blood streaking down her body. They all believed she was a dead coworker.
Amanda Driver, 24, told police “she ran away from the building harder than she has ever run before; she believed she was about to be shot.â€
Another employee, Gloria Kern, 68, said she knew her physical state wouldn’t allow her to outrun the gunman. “I thought: ‘This is it, I’m done.’â€
Bartels said “our staff came together to address the incident, and all concerns,†immediately after.
“All staff were offered compassion and support as well as mental-health services,†Bartels said. “We have continued to offer care and mental health support for anyone still affected by the drill.â€
Authorities say Channels offered something else. He walked around after the drill, asking how many employees wished they had had a weapon of their own. He then offered firearms training for them, for a cost.
Bartels said Channels — who later the same month was charged with sexual assault of a child and possessing child pornography — came recommended by “respected sources.†The police affidavit indicates that compliance director Carrie Walter and security director Mike Welna didn’t know where to turn to provide the training so they turned to security officer Mark Rigatuso, who suggested Channels.
Channels said he was an Offutt Air Force Base “civilian police officer†who owned a private security company. Walter told detectives that Channels stressed that local police “would be present during the training event and would even participate and ‘play along’ with the scenario.â€
“He clearly misrepresented himself and his qualifications,†Bartels wrote. “He did not follow the agreed-upon procedures for the training, mishandled its implementation and did not complete the pre-training communication with Omaha police and 911 dispatchers.
“We deeply regret following his recommendations and selecting him for the training.â€
The drill produced outrage beyond staff. Omaha police were dismayed, and Douglas County’s top law enforcement officer, Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine, called it a “bad, bad idea.†It was fortunate no one had a heart attack or fired a weapon at Channels while fleeing, Kleine said.