We have grown up with school shootings.
We were too young to be shaken by Columbine, but as children we saw Virginia Tech ravaged by the firepower of a single sick soul. We watched children barely younger than ourselves massacred at Sandy Hook. As we prepared to leave high school, 17 students in Parkland, Florida, were gunned down before they ever had a chance to graduate.
Mass shootings in schools are a fact of life now. Yet we’ve remained untouched here in Idaho, an oasis in a sea of bloody statistics and candlelight vigils.
What would we do if the carnage came to Moscow?
“When I see (school shootings) on the news, it kind of scares me, to be honest,” University of Idaho student Chase Janett said. “It could happen anywhere.”
While he has never been in an active shooter situation, gun ownership is commonplace in his hometown of Royal City, Washington.
“I’m from a small town where everyone owns a firearm and everyone’s really smart and really safe with them,” Janett said. “Firearm safety is a huge deal. We’re taught from a young age to be safe with firearms.”
As a mostly rural state, Idaho has had a widespread range of gun safety education. There are certain procedures UI and the Moscow Police Department are prepared to follow if the unthinkable happened.
“Police first address the threat to the campus,” Campus Security Manager Bruce Lovell said.
“Security would be involved because we monitor radio traffic. I would ensure that my boss, the director of public safety, was aware of what was going on and would set up the emergency management component. Then, the dean of students and president’s office would be notified directly, along with the general counsel and University Communications and Marketing.”
Lovell believes Moscow and UI are as prepared as any institution can be for an active shooter. The Moscow Police Department is trained to respond to active shooter situations through simulations with the local SWAT team.
But, adding Homeland Security’s Stop the Bleed program to active shooter trainings can keep the city even safer, Lovell said. He is working with the Moscow Fire Department to implement the program, which could help bystanders save the lives of those around them by ensuring survival until first responders can arrive. Lovell hopes the in-person program will become active in the coming year, but anyone can access the training online in the meantime.
Besides doing a training, Captain Tyson Berrett of the Moscow Police Department said the most important thing people can do to prevent a shooting is to recognize the warning signs. Berrett said while one report may not be cause for concern, several reports about one individual may raise enough alarm to stop gun violence — or other crimes — before they happen.
UI aims to encourage reporting through VandalCARE, a program that allows people to file a report with concerns — anything from emotional difficulties and bizarre behavior to dangerous actions — through the university’s website.
Berrett and Lovell agreed that even a simple step people can take is to be aware of their surroundings. It can help people get to safety in the event of an emergency.
“Trust your gut,” Lovell said. “If you’ve got a bad feeling, then maybe go park somewhere you’re going to feel more safe or call somebody.”
Story by Alexis Van Horn
Design by Emma French