The shots could even be heard outside where a few spectators also saw flashes of light, as if the firing weapon was real.
Immediately sirens went off and lights were flashing inside the building where only staff, law enforcement and emergency responders were allowed.
"You've got to help us," screamed a bloody man running from the main entrance, one of several volunteer actors. "Somebody's shooting. Somebody help. Help. Somebody. He's got a gun. Somebody help us. Help. You've gotta help."
Police and emergency responders from all over quickly converged on the scene, including an armored SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics) unit from the Buffalo office of the FBI.
As a helicopter circled overhead, a drone was sent up to get an aerial view, later flying lower to peer inside the windows.
"The message will tell you to run, hide or fight, in the event of an active threat," read a text message sent to staff by FLCC security. "This is only a drill."
Early reports were that one man "died" of a heart attack, but could not be confirmed.
Jessica Youngman, FLCC public relations and events coordinator, said the scenario included 13 to 15 people injured. She said an improvised explosive device was found.
"We had three employees sheltering in place in a small office on the second floor, near where a second suspected shooter was," she said. "It was jarring for me. I didn't really expect it to be as unsettling as it was."
She and other FLCC staff members watched on a screen from inside the nearby Honors House, something Youngman noted they would not be able to do in the event of an actual shooting incident.
It turned out to be a single shooter who was killed.
"Shooter down ... and out," said Victor Town Supervisor Jack Marren, chairman of the Ontario County Board of Supervisors, who was impressed with the series of exercises.
"It brought a level of awareness as to how critical response times are for the various agencies that participated, and the safety of our students and staff, as well," he said.
Marren was intrigued by the time lapse, as opposed to seeing footage on television. The drill was done in real time, with responders taking action throughout the afternoon at a pace they would have had there been an actual shooter inside the building.
"You hear victims inside calling for help, but the area's not secure enough where that type of medical support can come up," Marren said, noting when they did enter the building to tend to wounded people, they were escorted by a law enforcement officer.
He said in this exercise, a bomb was found, but did not detonate, explaining there would be fires and a whole different scenario had it exploded.
"The next process is to get together with the agencies and determine successes, challenges, what went right, what went wrong," he added.
"They have what is called a hot wash," said Bob Green, Bristol supervisor and chairman of the board's Public Safety Committee. "They find out what worked, what did not work and we improve and we will get better at it. Hopefully, these are services that will never ever be needed."
A retired Ontario County sheriff's lieutenant, he pointed out there are a number of outward stimulations such as fire alarms going off and lights flashing that are distracting to first responders and disrupt their ability to communicate with one another.
"The teams have to think on their feet because they do not know what they're walking into or what threat level they're walking into," Green said. "They have to be constantly on the alert. It's certainly a well demonstrated exercise with all of the emergency-services disciplines. We are here to learn and see how we can make things better. It's truly a credit to the county of Ontario, stepping up and taking part in these exercises in corroboration with the college and local, federal and state authorities."
Offices of the main campus were closed Monday for the drill.
Graduation was celebrated Saturday, so there are no classes this week. The summer session begins on May 29.
Responders included Canandaigua City Police, Canandaigua Emergency Squad, Finger Lakes Ambulance, New York State Police, the Ontario County Sheriff's Department with its mobile command vehicle, New York State Environmental Conservation Police, and FLCC campus security.
The drill was led by the Ontario County Emergency Management Office.
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