'I was just doing my job' | Middleton dispatcher shares story of workplace shooting
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The lives of people in Middleton were changed on September 19, 2018. Danielle Kimball is a part of the team that kept the terrible memory from being any worse.
At 10:26 a.m., a man began shooting his coworkers at WTS Paradigm. One minute, Kimball was laughing with her web technician, then next, she was answering calls from terrified people who heard gun shots.
"Your training kicks in, and you resort to what you know," Middleton Communications Dispatcher, Kimball said.
Kimball has been answering emergency calls since she was 19-years-old. All the training in the world couldn't have prepared her for how personal things got for her that day.
"It was one of the hardest things I have ever done," Kimball said.
Sending the officers she had gotten to know over five years into a situation with an active shooter was terrifying for Kimball. She says she couldn't help thinking about all the little things she knew about each and every one of them.
"I know their families, their kids, their wives, husbands; I couldn't ignore that," Kimball explained.
She never wavered in her focus. She had a mission she had to complete: answer the calls for help and give instructions to find safety.
"They all did so great. I was very impressed with how precise they were," Kimball said." Some needed help talking things through but I was impressed with them."
Kimball's time with the Middleton Communication Center is coming to an end soon. She will be moving to St. Louis the end of March. Helping save lives that September morning, is one of her most memorable experiences.
"I guess I have the satisfaction of doing it. I took care of my people."