Du Quoin police, sheriff's department to conduct Friday intruder drill at Sacred Heart

Perry County Emergency Management in cooperation with Perry County Sheriff Keith Kellerman and the Du Quoin Police Department will hold a mock intruder exercise Friday at 1 p.m. at the Sacred Heart School building on West Main Street.

The building is now home to the SIU pre-school program.

The drill is also referred to as a "live shooter drill," but that terminology tends to be unsettling.

These drills have been held in recent weeks at the Du Quoin High School, St. Bruno School in Pinckneyville, etc.

They simply familiarize police personnel with the layout of a building and the student presence there in the event of the unthinkable.

"If the public sees police cars around the building, we don't want them to worry," said David Searby, Perry County emergency management director.

Again, the drill will start around 1 p.m. when there are no children present in the building.