Gun Scare on URI Campus: Local Experts, Officials React
Friday, April 05, 2013
State Police and officials from the University of Rhode Island declare the campus safe for students, faculty and staff.
Yesterday’s incident at the University just after 11 a.m., the threat of an active shooter on campus, drew attention once again to the issues of security and safety on college campuses, just weeks following the death of a student at the University of Central Florida who ended his own life after amassing an arsenal of weaponry and threatening his roommate in a planned campus attack.The fear of a local campus shooting sent tremors of terror and despair throughout the State as word spread hard and fast that the University of Rhode Island Kingston campus was in lockdown due to the presence of a possible active shooter on site.
Local, state and campus police descended on the University’s Chafee Hall, immediately locking down the building, surrounding area and eventually, the entire campus.
Students and instructor gathered in a lecture room in the building heard a disturbing voice yeling, “I am a nice guy. I am a nice guy,” in what was said to be a strange and eerie voice, causing students to flee the room and building.
“Regardless of what people are saying, even if there was a gun or not, you can hear it on the recording, that person - there was something wrong with him,” said a student who was in the classroom, but wished to remain unnamed. “From my perspective I felt like it was coming from outside the classroom, like outside the door. I thought the yelling was coming from outside the door. I only heard one person. I heard him yell one time and the lecture stopped. He yelled again and I took off. I was right near an exit door and I ran out,” she said.
Can students feel safe on campus?
Matthew Munich, LCSW, a therapist at Family Service of RI addressed the emotional and psychological impact to those affected by the perceived threat.
“Even if no one is or has been hurt today, events such as this are traumatic because they disrupt our sense of safety. As a result, people might show very common stress reactions, such as hyper-vigilance (i.e. always feeling on), difficulty sleeping, or having flashbacks to the moment they received the news or were in lock-down,” he said. “Since trauma is a subjective response, every person’s reaction might be a bit different and people need to know that it’s OK to be upset by an event, even if it ultimately had a good outcome. “
Noting the recent tragedy in Newtown, CT and prior campus incidents involving gun violence, Munich cautioned individuals and family members to the ill effects of traumatic events in the emotional well-being of victims and bystanders.
“Also, this event serves as a reminder for all of us of the recent gun violence involving school (Newtown, CT, Virginia Tech) and recreational settings (Centennial, CO), where people also thought they were safe. Events like this are trauma reminders for everyone of how random traumatic events are and the loss of control that accompanies them. If a person’s individual traumatic stress reactions last, he or she should seek help from a professional.”
Munich also noted the feeling of insecurity imposed on college students having been exposed to the rash of violent acts involving guns and weaponry on campuses across the nation.
“College students are vulnerable in the sense that college campuses are supposed to be very safe places, somewhat removed from the troubles of the world. These events bring the world crashing into these enclaves and remind us of the vulnerability of college campuses.”
Gun control advocates and opposition agree
Local politicos holding strong, sometimes polar stances on Second Amendment rights and gun control were united in their praise for local law enforcement and University of Rhode Island staff in their handling of yesterday’s campus trauma.
Freshman Representative, Linda Finn, (D -72), who recently took a hard line on gun control, sponsoring House Bill House 5573, requiring gun owners to register their weapons with local law enforcement agencies, allowing police to keep copies of all applications for gun purchases sent to them for background checks, reacted to the news of the shooting scare at the University of Rhode Island.
"It is an unfortunate situation, " Finn said. “There are too many guns in the hands of too many people. Students should not have guns on campus or in public places. It’s frightening. This affected all of the students at URI - all of the people of Rhode Island. What happened was frightening and it is just wrong.”
Representative Doreen Costa (R-31) spoke of the effect on the community, parents and families.
“The main focus should always be on the safety of the children,” Costa said. “It doesn’t matter whether those children are in nursery school or college. Every one of those students has parents. Every one of them is someone’s child.”
Mental health issues are a challenge
Costa also spoke of the need to find an answer to the limitations imposed by the Health Insurance Portability Accountability Act (HIPPA) protections when dealing with individuals who may or may not have mental health issues.
“The HIPPA laws make it very difficult to determine whether someone is a stable or not. The information is private and it’s difficult to understand who is mentally capable of owning a gun or not.”
According to Munich, as a society we should be also be focusing on the policies and procedures in place to ensure the safety and welfare of the campus population.
“We should be thinking today of the importance of first responders and the necessity for all kinds of campuses and facilities to have safety procedures and plans and for all community members to know those procedures. The ability of authorities to cordon off an area and keep people safe is vital to people’s ongoing sense of safety. Practicing emergency protocols is also essential for campuses.”
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