| Response to Active Shooter On or Near Campus
Call: Public Safety Department: 276-6611 or 911 from a campus phone.
Note: Dialing 911 from a cell phone will not connect you with Public Safety
What to Know:
There have been several high-profile examples of deadly shooting on college campuses. Our Department of Public Safety has learned some valuable lessons from these tragic events on how students can better protect themselves from a hostile shooter. Below are some recommendations for students, faculty, and staff on how to respond if there is a hostile or aggressive individual on campus with the intention of actively causing deadly harm.
Remember to stay calm in every emergency situation. If you discover an individual with a weapon on campus, warn others and seek a place of safety, then call Public Safety and 911.
What to Do:
If you are not directly involved:
- Notify anyone you encounter that there is a shooter and to seek safety
- Seek shelter in a safe place
- Take protective cover and stay there until directed otherwise
- Lock doors and windows
- Stay away from windows and doors until notified
- Call 911 and Rensselaer Public Safety Department at 276-6611
- Provide the dispatcher with clear and specific information including:
- Your name;
- Location of the incident;
- Number of persons who may be in harm;
- Your current location; and
- Any known injuries.
If you are directly involved:
- Go to the nearest room or office
- Close and lock the door
- Block the door using whatever is available – desks, file cabinets books, other furniture
- Turn off the lights
- Seek protective cover
- Keep quiet and act as if no one is in the room
- Do not answer the door
- The shooter may bang on the door and yell for help to entice you to open the door
- If the shooter enters your room and leaves, lock/barricade the door behind them
- If safe, allow others to seek refuge with you
- Once in a sheltered area:
- Close blinds
- Block doors
- Block windows
- Turn off radio and computer monitors if necessary
- Silence cell phones
- Keep occupants calm and quiet
- Positioned people out of sight and behind items that might offer additional protection – walls, desks, file cabinets, etc.
- Notify 911 and Public Safety if it is safe to do so, providing each dispatcher with the following information:
- Your name
- Your location (be as specific as possible)
- Number of shooters and their specific location
- Shooters race, gender, physical features
- Type of weapons(rifle/shotgun, handgun)
- Have you heard explosions separate from gunshots?
- Do you recognize the shooter? What is his name?
- Number of persons involved
- Injuries known
- Wait for police or an officer from Public Safety to assist you out of the building
If you find yourself in an open area:
- Immediately seek protection
- Put something between you and the shooter
- Is escape your best option? Do you know where the shooter is? Is escape immediately available?
- If in doubt find a safe area and secure it the best way you can
- Should a fire alarm sound during a lockdown situation, DO NOT EVACUATE THE BUILDING unless you have first hand knowledge that a fire is in the building, you are in imminent danger, or you have been instructed to do so by emergency response personnel or a college official.
Remain calm!
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