By Clarion News
LINCOLN UNIVERSITY – The difference between life and death was the simple point of mandatory active-shooter training for campus faculty and staff held March 20-24 in Young Hall 300. LUPD’s Chief Gary Hill and Sgt. Jenna Mendez discussed a variety of strategies for anyone facing a violent intruder.
“You have to know what to do,” said Mendez, noting that it often comes down to a run-hide-fight situation. The LUPD officer noted that some campus doors don’t lock, but that’s going to change. “They’re going to fix the doors that don’t lock.” The campus uses a variety of notification procedures when a threat enters campus.
The RAVE system sends texts to smart phones, a public broadcast siren may blast across campus, emails are sent, and campus phones can also be alerted. Chief Hill noted that even highly trained persons may not be able to act when facing a shooting threat.
“Not everyone is going to have the fortitude to do what we’re asking you to do,” Hill said. “We get that.” However, he said training gives campus employees the ability to make decisions in chaotic situations. Using two audience volunteers, Hill graphically demonstrated how a pistol and an assault rifle can be jammed by strategically grabbing the weapon. Acting as a would-be shooter, Hill began to point the weapon in a threatening manner. Using Hill’s training method, one of the volunteers grabbed the weapon, forcing the barrel down and likely jamming the gun if fired.
It worked. Hill noted the importance of acting quickly and correctly. Run-hide-fight. Training can make a difference in the outcome.
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