University officials said AU responded to the presence of a gunman on campus March 23 in a timely manner because they did not believe there was an ongoing threat to campus safety.
Public Safety Executive Director Dan Nichols said via University Communications that the AU Broadcast Alert messages were used to inform people of the incident rather than warn them of the gunman at Eagle’s Nest.
“The alert was issued only for the purpose of providing basic facts to assure the community there was NO threat and the situation was under control,” Nichols said in a University Communications email. “In doing so, we wanted to quell any rumors and calm the community.”
A man brandished a weapon at Eagle’s Nest shortly before 7 p.m. on Friday, fleeing campus on foot immediately afterward. Metropolitan Police were called by a witness moments later and discovered while speaking to Bon Appétit employees that the suspect may have been part of a love triangle, The Eagle previously reported. MPD and DPS were continuing their investigation as of 4:57 p.m. on March 23, according to the article.
AU officials first told the University community of a possible armed man on campus using the AU Broadcast Alerts system at 7:42 p.m., approximately 40 minutes after MPD arrived at the scene. The man left campus before the AU alert was sent out, according to the alert.
AU sent a second alert at 8:16 p.m. to announce an “all clear.”
Some students voiced concerns about the timeliness of the first AU alert, questioning the delay between the time police responded to the incident and the time students were notified.
Zach Birnbaum, a freshman in the School of International Service and School of Public Affairs, said he believes the message should have been sent “at least within the first 10 minutes of an incident being reported.”
SIS senior Jilian Fama said the speed of the message was acceptable, but that the information it provided was vague.
The AU alert system was developed in 2007 to provide immediate text alerts and updates to the AU community with information and instructions in case of emergency, according to the 2012 Annual Security Report. Students can sign up to receive the alerts online and customize their preferences on text messages or email alerts.
The University may also communicate with students through social media and through the AU portal depending on the situation, Assistant Vice President for Communications and Media Camille Lepre said in an email. AU did not use social media to inform students about the situation in the Eagle’s Nest.
There was an armed incident in 2005 at the Avalon at Foxhall apartments in the 4100 block of Massachusetts Avenue NW. One man was shot and wounded during an attempted robbery that involved two AU students, Public Safety said in an email.
University offers guidance in case of a shooter
AU offers different strategies for addressing an active shooter situation inside a building, outside a building and outside a classroom, according to the Active Shooter Response Protocol included in the 2009 Emergency Management and Continuity of Operations Plan.
“Bottom line, if you hear shots fired on campus, or if you see or know that an armed person is shooting people, protect yourself first — move to a safe location,” according to the protocol.
The 2009 protocol is the most updated safety plan available to the AU community.
The emergency plans on AU’s website provide general guidance for the community and do not change annually. In the case of a crisis, students and the community will receive instructions from building marshals and emergency response officials for handling the situation, Csellar said in an email.
“The University’s plan was made to be flexible and act as a foundation so that it is an all-hazards plan,” Csellar said.
There is no set plan in the protocol to act upon in the case that the shooter enters a classroom or office. In this case, the protocol offers suggestions, such as playing dead or attempting to call the police.
“Use common sense. If you are hiding and flight is impossible, attempts to negotiate with the suspect may be successful,” the protocol said.
Nichols sent out a campus-wide email on Jan. 25, 2012 with two videos about active shooter preparedness, The Eagle previously reported. In the email, Public Safety urged students and faculty to accept that a shooting could happen on campus.
“We can assume it won’t happen here and do nothing; or we can embrace the fact that preparedness and awareness are keys to helping protect our students, faculty, staff, visitors and ourselves should we have an active shooter on campus,” Nichols wrote in the email.
Public emergency plan has not been updated since 2009
AU Public Safety has not publicly released updated emergency plans since August 2009. The most current Emergency Management and Continuity of Operations Plan available on the University’s website was written on April 29, 2009.
The University will not release current emergency plans because they contain confidential information that could harm the safety of the community if made public, Associate Director of Media Relations Maralee Csellar said in an email.
The plan details all emergency preparedness at AU, including protocols for crises such as an active shooter on campus, a bomb on campus or a weather-related emergency. The 114-page document includes steps for the AU administration’s handling of a crisis, including who declares the emergency and alerts the community and what the AU community should do during the emergency.
“In the event of an emergency, taking all reasonable and appropriate steps to protect people, property and the University’s interest is essential,” according to the 2009 plan.
The plan is based on the assumption that only one building will be affected by the emergency, Csellar said in an email. The plans also assume that active shooters are unlikely emergencies.
“Nationally, active shooter situations do not occur often on college campuses, but we know all too well that the possibility exists and it is important to have protocols in place on how to respond,” the protocols said.
There have been 13 mass shootings in the U.S. since the AU emergency plan was put online in August 2009, according to the investigative journalism nonprofit Mother Jones. A University of Maryland student was killed in an off-campus shooting on Feb. 12, according to a Washington Post article.
Updating the emergency plans
Though not published online, emergency protocols are updated and simulated yearly as mandated by the Clery Act, Csellar said in an email.
The Clery Act requires all colleges to report campus crimes throughout the year, according to the Clery Center.
The Emergency Response Team conducts its drills in the spring. After the drill, any modifications thought necessary are made to the plan. In the fall, the changes are communicated to the building marshals, Csellar said in the email.
Csellar added that the drills are run by the ERT and do not include students.
Bill Shields, an adjunct professor in the government department, said he believes that the plan should be reviewed annually, but not necessarily updated.
“I don’t think you should change a plan just to change a plan,” he said.
Colin Lewis-Beck, a part-time student, agreed.
“I would think it’s something that doesn’t need to be revamped too often,” he said.
Major Kevin Foust, deputy chief of police and assistant director of security at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), said emergency plans should be tested annually and that updating them should be a continuous process.
“The time to see if a plan works or not, or if the staff is capable of handling the situation or not, is not during an actual incident,” Foust said in an email to The Eagle.
In 2007, Virginia Tech senior Seung-Hui Cho shot and killed 32 people and wounded 17 others in two separate attacks on campus before committing suicide, according to the university’s website. The “Virginia Tech massacre” is the deadliest shooting incident by a lone gunman in U.S. history.
Each situation is unique, which means that students and faculty cannot rely on information suited for the previous situation, Foust said. However, the more information provided to students is better because everyone is responsible for their own safety, Foust said.
“You learn from what worked and what didn’t work during that specific emergency,” he said.
