Blood is splattered everywhere, the body stretched out on the office floor. It’s cold; rigor has set in. The police are the first on the scene, and they quickly call in the forensic investigators. Once on site, the team begins to collect evidence

Then the bell rings. The body gets up and heads to the hallway to monitor class changes, joking with investigators as he goes.

The forensics class investigated a mock crime scene last week, with principal Corey Hickerson playing the part of the victim. After collecting their information, students had to apply what they’ve learned in class and classify each piece of information as to what type of evidence it was.

“The mock crime scene was over what we were learning at the time: primary and secondary types of crime scenes,” senior Melanie McGill said. “I thought it was really cool and made me feel like a real investigator from NCIS or something.”

The crime scene was set up in Hickerson’s office.

“I thought the scene was going to be outside or something, somewhere where the mess wouldn’t be too hard to clean up,” McGill said. “Our principal is the coolest ever for doing it.”

The scene was simple. Hickerson was attacked with a paddle from his office because he gave a student ISS, affecting his athletic scholarship. The killer turned out to be the student’s dad.

“The scene was all in Mr. Hickerson’s office,” senior Colton Green said. “I found it pretty interesting, actually, and a little funny too.”

Students said they were able to gain some insight into what it actually takes to be a forensic investigator.

“Before, I never really knew what a forensic investigator was in real life, just what they were in the movies and TV shows,” senior Marybeth Helmcamp said. “This really changed how I view that.”

After the mock crime scene, some students said they would actually consider a career in forensics or criminology after high school.

“Being a forensics investigator, or anything to do with crime and solving stuff, never really interested me before,” McGill said. “I am seriously considering this as a career now. This really opened up my eyes and allowed me to see that I am actually sort of passionate about this.”