Lance Schronce pushed his way through the tree limbs and brush as he raced after a K-9 unit hot on the trail of three “suspects” involved in a morning “shooting.”

On Thursday, the Maiden High School junior and 31 other students from Bandys and Maiden high schools participated in a mock criminal investigation through their Criminal Justice 2 course at Claremont Fire Department.

Earlier in the morning student police officer Schronce heard about a “shooting” on the scanner.  Police chased after the suspect’s vehicle until it slammed into another car.  The three suspects fled with a person left trapped in the car they hit.  The student firefighters learned how rescue workers use the Hearse “Jaws of Life” to cut victims from cars when they can’t get out.

Meanwhile, the agencies heard over the squawking scanner they were looking for two males wearing short-sleeve shirts, jeans and boots with short hair and a female with long blonde hair, a blue T-shirt, jeans and tennis shoes.   The suspects were spotted going toward Genelia Drive and Hurshey Avenue.

With K-9 units ready to go, two teams of students tracked the suspects through the woods and fields until the dogs lost the scent as they crossed a recently fertilized field.  “Officers” were finally located the suspects near the intersection of Cinderella Street and Boggs Road where they had been hiding in the woods.  They were “arrested” and taken into custody.

Schronce said the whole experience was enlightening.

“I got to see how important their jobs are to the community,” Schronce said.  “They do this every day.”

Schronce said the opportunity has confirmed his dedication toward pursing more education in law enforcement training.

“It’s a good thing to get into,’ Schonce said.  “It’s a very special job and it takes a lot of heart, too.”

Bandys senior Flint Mitcham worked with the S.T.A.R Team while his classmate Chera Pardue worked with a police unit.  

“This is way cool,” she told Mitcham.

Pardue said she was taught how important it is to know everything that is going on around you during the investigation.

All the students previously completed the Criminal Justice 1 course in the fall semester or last year.  This is the first year the class has been offered at Maiden High School, which nearly doubled the number of students involved from 18 last year to the current 32.  She teaches one class at Maiden in the morning and then heads over to Bandys to teach two more classes. Criminal Justice Instructor Pansy Helderman said she teaches the same criminal justice course offered through Catawba Valley Community College.

“There’s no way I can teach this in the classroom,” Helderman said.  “They have to see it and experience it.”

Claremont Police Chief Gerald Tolbert said the exercise was a wonderful way for the students to learn the roles the agencies play in the community.

“They learn what we do, why we do it and how we do it,” he said.  “I think it’s great training.  I just wish more high school’s had the program.”

Beginning Monday, the agencies involved will each visit the classes one at a time to explain more about their jobs and allow students to ask questions about the mock crime scene.

Helderman said one of the most valuable parts of the experience is showing students new types of jobs they may or may not have considered before.

“When they come out here, they go ‘Oh, I see something I really like.’”

More importantly, she said it shows them they can do it through the hands-on interactive experience.

The students joined one of the county’s emergency response agencies, from Catawba County Special Tactics And Response (S.T.A.R. Team), EMS, communications, Sheriff’s Department, police, etc.  The purpose was for the students to learn how the agencies work together during a criminal investigation from the crime to the arrest.