By Joshua Counts
CCC Journalism Program
BLACKWOOD – In the wake of the recent deadly school shooting in Parkland, Florida, the issue of what to do if an active shooter incident occurred on the Camden County College campus has taken on added significance.
Jermaine Ayala researches CCC’s active shooter procedures. By Joshua Counts, CCC Journalism Program
Public safety officers stress the three key procedures of Run. Hide. Fight. Officers say students and staff members first should try to run to the nearest exit to get to safety. If they cannot, officers say, then they should hide in the corner of the room to be less visible to the shooter. As a last resort, officers say, they should fight back if the shooter enters their location.
Officers say students and staff members should stay calm and call the police.
The amount of knowledge that CCC students have about these procedures varies. Recently, some said they would run to the nearest exit if they were outside the classrooms or on the campus grounds. Others said they would call the police as quickly as they could.
First-year student Lance Ganges said he knew only the basic information about what to do in the event of a school shooting such as the Feb. 14 incident in which a man wielding an AR-15 killed 17 students and staff members at a Parkland, Florida, high school. He then visited the CCC website and read the procedures on his phone. After that, he stated, “I would do everything that the website said.”
First-year student Jermaine Ayala said he knew nothing about the procedures and went on to say he would head straight for the exit if an active shooter incident occurred.
After reading the procedures, both students said the only thing they would change was that if they were trapped inside a classroom in an active shooter incident, not only would they lock the doors but they would also flip a table for cover.