By Pulse Staff

As the reality of active shooter incidents persists across the country, University of Findlay Chief of Police and Director of Security William Spraw says we all have to be cautious.

“We’re not in a bubble. We’re not all fenced in,” Spraw said. “There’s access everywhere. So, all you can do is at least be vigilant: if you see something, say something.”

Nearly a dozen college campuses across the country have experienced active shooter hoaxes within the last week, while young students at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis, a PreK-8^th grade school, experienced the real thing. Two children, ages 8 and 10, died when a gunman opened fire as they sat in Mass in the church connected to the school. Seventeen others were hurt. Some children shielded their friends and hid while others tried to escape.

College students responding to reports of an active shooter on multiple campuses including Kansas State and University of Kentucky, trying to hide or escape, only the threat wasn’t real for them. But the initial response was just as frightening.

The Associated Press reports that the FBI is working with law enforcement on these “swatting” cases on college campuses.

UF Captain of Campus Police and Safety/Security John Dunbar retired from the Findlay Police Department and joined UF recently. He spent 15 years on FPD’s Emergency Response Team (ERT) and has trained in these types of emergency events.

“The likelihood (of it happening here) is the same as anywhere else,” Dunbar said. “It’s just wherever you have people, you have potential for some type of confrontation.”

There are three stages essentially to an active shooter situation. Before something happens is where campus safety and security try to take precautions.

“I’ve learned through the years to harden your target. Reduce your chances of being subject to a real threat,” Dunbar said.

Spraw and Dunbar say they try to identify vulnerable areas, train the police and security staff, and monitor security cameras. There are 800 security cameras across campus, including the two farms, to help deter potential threats, as well as 50 Code Blue Units across campus.

While the Code Blue Units are rarely used, they are set up so that if a student needs to use one and keep running, there’s another in sight for them to run to and use again so security can track that person in need.

“It’s literally our in-house 911,” Spraw said. “It rings right into our dispatch just like a phone call.”

“We treat them as the real deal,” Dunbar said.

If there is a report of an active shooter, Spraw says the first response is to get there, then send out an Oiler Alert. (Students and employees can make sure they’re signed up for Oiler Alerts in WorkDay.)

Multiple area police agencies would also respond at that time to help, including the Findlay Police, Hancock County Sheriff and State Highway Patrol. Those agencies would also help guard the two rally points on campus during an emergency situation: the parking lot of the DeHaven Soccer Complex at 310 Howard Street, and Winebrenner at 950 North Main Street.

But tracking who is safe is tougher for college campuses than Pre-k through high school situations.

“We’re not talking about first graders,” Spraw said. “(For example) we wouldn’t have any clue who is in Old Main right now.”

The after-action plan includes not just the rally areas, but where Findlay Fire would stage and a location for Life Flight to land if needed.

“The main focus for the first responders is to go to the threat. That’s the main focus of anybody that’s first on scene,” Dunbar said.

While the investigation into the college campus hoaxes continue, Dunbar says they still have to stay vigilant.

“You have to take it seriously. We don’t have the luxury on the law enforcement and security side, whether it’s here or anywhere, to assume that it’s a hoax,” Dunbar said. “We would rather treat it as the real deal and not have something happen rather than vice versa.”

Spraw agrees with the old saying, it’s better to be safe than sorry.