In light of the fatal school shootings in Kentucky and Florida earlier this month, it’s important to realize the possibility of an incident.
With Mississippi State University located in Starkville and East Mississippi Community College’s Golden Triangle campus not far from town, the SDN reached out to officials from both institutions to discuss their protocols should an incident occur.
Mississippi State Chief Communications Officer Sid Salter said the university’s administrative team had met with MSU President Mark Keenum Monday to discuss the
university’s plans to fully comply with Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant’s Dec. 19, 2017 executive order, meeting the June 1 deadline. Gov. Bryant’s order made completion
of the “Active Shooter Situations: What Should You Do?” course mandatory for all state employees.
The course is offered by the Mississippi State Personnel Board and covers the basics of response and survival during an active shooter situation. The course also covers topics related to prevention.
“The university is mindful of the safety concerns raised by Gov. Bryant in his executive order, and we welcome any protocols from the state that enhance campus safety,” Salter said.
Salter also said the university had implemented a training, locks and communications (TLC) program to protect the MSU community in an active shooter situation. The TLC program was put into place in
2015, following an incident involving a student making threats of gun violence. The student, Fhu-Qui Cong Nguyen, was captured with no victims and no shots fired. Nguyen was later found to be unarmed.
Members of the MSU community who witness any suspicious activity can report it at 662-325-2121.
EMCC Assistant Chief of Police Steve Windish said EMCC staff had met to discuss campus safety following the massacre at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida last week.
“As far as the college goes, two days after that Florida incident, we held a civilian response to active shooter events class in which we had 115 faculty and staff members attend,” Windish said. We went over different things that the faculty and staff can do in response to active shooter events.”
Windish said the college also had a response plan in place for such an incident, and drilled the scenario periodically.
“We have had tabletop sessions with the local agencies around here and let them know what our response is, and what we’re asking of them at that point and time,” Windish said.
He recommended the Avoid, Deny, Defend (ADD) rule as a method of protecting oneself during an active shooter situation. He said to first try to avoid the situation at all costs. The next step is to deny them entry or access. The third step is to defend yourself against the threat.
“If somebody does make an actual entry to where you’re at, you have a legal right to defend yourself,” Windish said.
Windish said he felt a high sense of urgency surrounding the issue following the incidents this month.
“Now everybody’s starting to realize that it can happen at any point, anytime, anywhere,” Windish said. “Everybody used to for years have this feeling of ‘it can’t happen here,’ but I believe that they’re starting to understand that it can happen anywhere, and people are wanting to start taking precautions for that.”
Members of the EMCC community wishing to report suspicious activity should reach out to the EMCC Police Department.