Upcoming Active Shooter Drill

A Run. Hide. Fight. University active shooter preparedness exercise will close Dykes Library from 5 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Thursday Sept. 24. We will conduct this drill in collaboration with our campus police department, Kansas City, Kansas, police and fire departments, county offices and the hospital. Timed to coincide with National Preparedness Month, this drill will test our readiness and how we work together as a community in a highly charged emergency situation. Even if you are not part of the exercise itself, you may be impacted.

Here's what you can expect the day of the exercise:  

• The drill will start at 7 a.m., but Dykes Library will be closed at 5 a.m. (to prepare for the drill) until the exercise is completed and the area is cleared.
• Pedestrian and vehicle traffic will be rerouted, so expect slight delays.
• The RAVE and Alertus systems will be activated throughout campus - ensure you receive the Alertus popup at your computer and the RAVE text message on your cell phone (you must be signed up to receive RAVE messages).
• All of the university campus will be in lockdown for a short period.
• You will receive Emergency Alert or Critical Information emails from dispatch throughout the event; subject line will lead with "This is a drill" or "This is an exercise."
• Employees and students should make sure to wear their badges, particularly during the lockdown. Your badge will be the only means of access to buildings if you need to move between buildings during the lockdown period. In a real emergency, we would need to account for our employees and students so your badges would help us do this.

The campus can actively participate in this drill by thinking about your egress routes or how you would barricade yourself from a shooter. If you haven't taken the Run, Hide, Fight training or asked for a presentation or recommendations, now is the time to do so. Email Erica Hupka for training information or go to the Emergency Management website, which has a short Run, Hide, Fight video.

We have notified the Rosedale and Volker neighborhoods, and digital signs are already installed to let the community know of this event. Please tell your family and friends about the drill so they are not alarmed by the sirens and possible media presence this day.

We appreciate your cooperation and support throughout this drill. After the exercise, we will put together an after-action report to share with the campus. Email uem@kumc.edu with questions or concerns.