Ready and Waiting

Police detective Brian Braswell of Petersburg, Va., thinks he's "three-quarters" prepared for the next Columbine. Last month, the local high school was the stage for a hostage drill complete with blaring fire alarms, 60 kids from Junior ROTC playing the wounded and scared, and an officer portraying a revenge-seeking killer, firing blanks from a shotgun. Braswell's team of officers had to push through waves of fleeing, panicked students and step over wounded children tugging at their pant legs crying "Help me!" Says Braswell: "From Columbine, we've learned that you have no choice but to go in and stop the carnage."

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