Chapel Hill Shooting Fallout: How to Prepare Here at FSU
posted by Lindsey Allen | September 26, 2023 | In NewsThe Chapel Hill shooting on August 30, 2023, left students wondering if they’re even safe on campus.
What are the protocols here at Fayetteville State University and do the students here on campus feel safe? Chapel Hill isn’t that far from Fayetteville and something like this could happen here on campus so what would be the protocols if something like this occurred?
If an active shooter is outside the building
On the FSU website under crime prevention, it states: “If you find yourself in an active shooter situation, try to remain as calm as possible and use the suggested action to help you plan a strategy for survival. Keep in mind, the entire area is still a crime scene.”
The website goes on to give specific actions you can take: “Go to a room that can be locked or barricaded by using available material. Close the window blinds, turn off the lights and get everyone off the floor so that no one is visible from outside the room. Spread out and seek concealment behind the walls, desk, file cabinets, etc. Have someone call 9-1-1 using a cellular telephone or call 9-1-1 from any campus. When you reach the dispatcher, describe the situation and give your name and location; remain in place until police give the ‘All clear.’ Unfamiliar voices may be the shooter attempting to lure victims from their safe space; do not respond to any voice commands until you can verify with certainty that they are being issues by the police officer.”
These are the protocols if the shooter is outside the building.
If the active shooter is inside the building
In this scenario, the website recommends: “If possible, secure the room you are in by either locking or barricading the door using available material and follow the same procedures described above. If you cannot secure the room, determine if there is a nearby location that you are able to reach safely and then secure or if you can safely exit the building.”
Now if the active shooter is inside the room there is no procedure for this, you must just run for it, but you should try to remain calm. Call 9-1-1, if possible, to alert the police where the shooter is.
If the shooter isn’t firing, the FSU website states: “If the shooter is not actively firing on victims it might be possible to negotiate with the shooter.” If the active shooter leaves the room, it states: “if … the environment appears safe, proceed immediately to a safer place. Do not touch anything that was in the shooter because of the possibility of explosive being left and the destruction of crucial evidence.”
Do you feel safe?
There are many protocols for an active shooter here on campus, but even with all these protocols do any of the students feel safe? You can only do so much to keep yourself safe in this kind of situation.
Photo courtesy of Chuck Allen
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