(Fayetteville, AR)—How would you handle yourself if there was an active shooter in your building on campus? UAPD is making it a mission to make sure students and faculty are not only aware, but prepared of what to do in this type of situation.
“Folks can be aware that something might happen but we want them to be prepared if and when something does happen,” said Capt. Matt Mills.
Avoid, deny, and defend are the three words to remember when put in an active shooter situation.
“We want you to first get out. If you can’t get out, then deny access to where you’re at. Close the door, barricade the door. Then have a plan to defend yourself—if the bad guy were to have a plan to come through to your room,” Mills said.
Capt. Mills is teaching the course “Preventing Violence on Campus” not only to educate students and faculty on what to do in a dangerous situation, but what to look for to prevent violence from happening in the first place.
He said to look for red flag behavior, “Things like inappropriate or strange behavior. Declined in individuals work performance, demeanor, appearance. Those are the things that may lead someone to believe something is going on.”
That is why the University of Arkansas created a new website specifically to notify UAPD of any suspicious behavior and potential concerns to campus safety. The site can be found at report.uark.edu. All submissions are anonymous.
“We are being proactive. We want to stop the event before it actually has the chance to actually occur,” said Mills.