Phones buzzed across Mississippi State University Thursday morning with a message alerting students of an active shooter on their campus. As panic ensued, so did the rumors.
As more information became available for the students, it was revealed that no shots were fired and there was never a weapon.
Though many agreed with the university’s decision, criticism still resonates through MSU’s campus, and many say the situation was blown out of proportion. The University of Mississippi would react in a similar manner, however, said chief of police Tim Potts.
“I think it is unfair that people would criticize the alert they put out because there was no shooting,” Potts said. “They did what any parent of a student or any student would want, and they did it very quickly. That is exactly what we are supposed to do and we would do.”
Potts said in any situation, no matter how the police receive the information, they must assess whether it is an imminent threat or a credible threat, and if it is going to impact campus. He said that the police have to make that determination swiftly and react accordingly.
“Thank heavens the situation ended how it did at State,” Potts said. “When it comes to situations like that, you have to make decisions quickly.”
Potts said he likes to say ‘you see something, you say something,’ meaning if anyone sees something different or suspicious, they need to bring it to the department’s attention. Potts said his officers will always be willing to check out anything that seems suspicious.
Lacretia Wimbley, the editor-in-chief of Mississippi State’s student newspaper, said an alert was released to inform the university’s community. Everyone was asked to proceed with caution and seek safety.
That’s when campus was put on lockdown, and teachers were told to hold students or take them into rooms that were secure while the situation was assessed, Wimbley said.
“My initial reaction was confusion,” Wimbley said. “But then I became slightly afraid because of the term ‘active shooter.’ An active shooter, in my mind, means that someone is actually wielding a gun and possibly firing it.”
Although Wimbley was afraid, she said she knew, as a journalist, it was important to get the facts to the students to ensure their safety.
Although many concerns arose from students asking why authorities used the term active shooter if there wasn’t a gun, Wimbley said she felt the university handled it well.
“I was concerned about that at first, but I feel they did that to take the highest precaution as possible,” Wimbley said.
The university informed its community later in the morning that classes would resuming at 2 p.m. The announcement was followed by another email asking professors to be understanding because of the sensitivity of the subject and the scare, Wimberly said.
MSU student Lee Moseley said the classroom he was in was located right next to where the incident was located.
“That was the first time I actually got scared,” Moseley said. “We were one of the first classrooms he would have come to.”
Moseley said he and his classmates moved to the back of the classroom, taking cover under desks. The class he was in moved to a different room that was located further away from the doors.
“I was relatively calm at first,” Moseley said. “You don’t know how to react to that, but you have to.”
The class’s belongings and persons were searched by police in an effort to ensure there was no further danger before students were released, Moseley said.
Moseley said he had made it to his car when he saw students running and screaming. Looking at his phone, he saw rumors that there was a possible second shooter and students had been killed.
“It was like something out of a movie,” Moseley said.
A woman on the drill field screamed, causing a panic. Students became frightened and ran from the area. A similar incident occurred in a nearby building, Moseley said.
Moseley said he felt the entire situation was handled very well.
“They did what they were supposed to do,” Moseley said “That’s what they have to do, treat it like the worst case scenario.”
Potts said this is a great opportunity for Ole Miss students to educate themselves on what to do if there is an active shooter and to sign up for RebAlerts because it can send out life-saving information.
RebAlert allows the University to easily contact people and make urgent information available, according to Potts.
“Preparedness is something all emergency teams have to have,” Potts said. “It doesn’t even have to be something on the Ole Miss campus that happens, it could be close to campus and we will send out an alert if we feel like it might be a threat.”
The Crisis Action Team is in charge of the RebAlert system, but UPD works very closely with them, according to Potts.
Potts said that the video on the crisis website, which addresses what to do if an active shooter appears on campus, should be viewed by everyone in the Ole Miss community. The video outlines important procedures to follow should a similar situation arise on our own campus.
-Lana Ferguson and Logan Kirkland
