Columbine, Jonesboro, Virginia Tech and now Northern Illinois University. All of these places have the scenes of school shootings in the past decade.
Since the beginning of this month, there have been six shootings at schools across the United States. Some of the shootings have been more publicized than others, possibly due to the varying degrees of injuries.
According to a U.S. News & World Report school shooting timeline posted Feb. 16, there have been more than 50 school shootings since the infamous 1966 shooting at University of Texas-Austin from the observation deck. Of the 50+ school shootings, at least 40 of the shootings have taken place in the past decade, including those of Columbine, Jonesboro, Virginia Tech and NIU.
Since Feb. 4, high school and college campuses across America have been the scenes of a fatal stabbing and five shootings that took 12 lives, including some of the shooters.
To many people, the NIU shooting echoed closely that of Virginia Tech last April, when 23-year-old Cho Seung-Hui, killed 33, including himself, and injured another 30 on the Viriginia Tech campus. The Virginia Tech shooting is considered by many to be the worse mass shooting in modern U.S. history.
Since the Virginia Tech shootings last spring, many steps have been taken at Texas A&M University-Commerce.
According to A&M-C President Keith McFarland, some of the steps taken include rewriting the University Crisis Management Plan and spending $25,000 in acquiring the emergency alert system Pride Alert Warning System (PAWS). University Police Department Chief Donna Spinato and other UPD officers have received additional crisis management training, as well as Spinato coordinating an exercise this spring on the A&M-C campus with multiple agencies.
Lighting has also been improved around campus and individuals displaying erratic behavior are referred to counseling resources. Lastly, University officials are investigating a wireless intercom system for buildings on campus.
In addition, Spinato stated additional equipment has been purchased for first responders.
UPD Crime Information Officer Lt. Jason Bone elaborated on the differences since Virginia Tech that have taken place on the A&M-C campus.
“One of the main differences is how we deal with perceived threats. We investigate more quickly when someone appears to be mentally ill,” Bone said. “Mental illness as a general rule is not a law enforcement matter, but UPD gets involved from a safety point of view as quickly as possible if there someone deems it a danger.”
Another major change was the acquisition McFarland referred to of the PAWS emergency warning system. The program is available to all individuals on the A&M-C campus who sign up for it.
“Mass notification is a big change. PAWS may owe its existence to Virginia Tech. We were looking into the system before that, but that incident more than any other made it happen,” Bone said.
In a report published by the American Association of State and Colleges and Universities (AASCU) titled “Expecting the Unexpected: Lessons Learned,” findings were broken down into six areas for campuses to be aware of.
The areas included linkages, communication, early detection and warnings; quick response, media and public relations; and family and victim assistance.
“I think the article from AASCU hits the nail on the head by the title expecting the unexpected. I think we must remember that it is very hard top predict the human mind,” Spinato said. “It is extremely hard to lock down an open campus in a crisis situation; remember we are open to the public.”
One of the major points that McFarland, Spinato and Bone all stress the importance of, is for the A&M-C community to be alert and observant, and if there is suspicious behavior, notify UPD immediately.
“Dial 911 if on a campus phone, 903-886-5111 if on a cell phone or off-campus number. Give as much information as possible to the dispatcher. This will help the officers in their response efforts,” Spinato said.