Area universities make active shooter preparedness a priority
Oct. 20—It's a situation that no one wants to be in, but a new study shows that there have been at least 140 incidents of gunfire on school grounds so far this year, which is why campus police departments are keeping active shooter protocols at the forefront of conversation.
These incidents have resulted in over 40 deaths and over 110 injuries. Of these incidents, three were in Missouri around St. Louis, and one was in Olathe, Kansas.
Universities in Northwest Missouri are highlighting the importance of ensuring their campus communities are safe.
Jill Voltmer, Missouri Western State University police chief, said that having a good relationship with the campus is one of the most beneficial factors when it comes to keeping everyone safe.
"You know, you always hope that it's not going to be here, but you need to be prepared if it is," Voltmer said. "I think it should be on the forefront of everybody's mind. And I will tell you here we have a really good relationship with faculty, staff and students. We cannot be everywhere, but our students, faculty and staff can be everywhere. So because of the relationship we have with our campus community, we are often alerted to suspicious people, packages, cars, etcetera, and we are able to check those out and either take action or eliminate whether or not they're a threat."
Amanda Cullen, interim chief for Northwest Missouri State University Police Department, said that it's important to stay up to date on training because every situation changes, no matter how prepared you may be.
"It's important to me to have these discussions about hostile intruders and what that response looks like and what our resources are, because it is currently something that we are exposed to in the media as well as within the United States," Cullen said. "Unfortunately, there is no plug and play. You know, once you get on scene, you assess the situation and you adapt and react as appropriate. And so that constant training assists our first responders as well as our community with how to do that."
University officials are doing everything they can to keep their campus community safe when it comes to an active shooter. They always encourage people to run, hide and fight. Another measure to ensure that students are safe is making sure classroom doors are locked.
Some students, like Missouri Western senior Devon Holmes, say they have a large amount of faith in their university's police department.
"It's like going into your home knowing they're not going to be in there. You just, I just feel comfortable here. It's my home," Holmes said. "I just see how well they do their job over the past five years I've been here and I believe that they can they have good protocol themselves stopping at a shooter."
Missouri Western senior Hannah Owens, on the other hand, thinks that there could be more done to protect the students.
"Right now, I would say that my safety experience with the campus is kind of 50-50," Owens said. "I think that open communication channels with campus officials, campus TV and overall would be a lot better for students if we have to face the inevitable."
There's one thing in particular that Voltmer wants her campus community to know.
"Your job is to stay alive because I'm coming, we're coming and just stay alive. Do what you have to do," Voltmer said.
