A scare at the Downtown campus has led to an even closer look at safety and protective measures at all campuses at the college.
After a botched robbery attempt in the 100 block of Langdon Street on the evening of Sept. 18, a shot was fired and both suspects went running. A witness near the scene thought one of the suspects went into the Downtown campus leading to alerts for students in class to stay in the building and take cover, and others to stay away.
The WolfPack Alert was sent at 6:45 p.m. and a message went through landlines at the Downtown campus approximately at that time as well. It created a state of shock and fear for students at campus throughout the evening.
As the incident at Downtown turned out to not be an active shooter situation, officials took steps, including sending out the alerts, to make sure things were all right or things did not worsen.
Madison Police searched the Downtown campus and the suspect was not found there, according to the police report. The report also stated the two suspects were eventually detained – one by a UW-Madison Police officer at a bus stop on Observatory Drive and the other by a Madison Police officer near the intersection of Gilman and Henry.
People on the scene said they didn’t know what was going on with all the chaos. The initial message through the phone system at Downtown telling people to stay in their classrooms was approximately 6:45 p.m., about the same time as the WolfPack Alert through text. Students say about 15 minutes after the initial lockdown message, they were told through the Downtown phone system to evacuate the building. However, no officers came to rooms, students said.
Bill Garrett was in class at the time of the incident. He told fellow students to remain as quiet as possible. Then, he and another student pulled the shades down on the window for the room and barricaded the door. When the message was sent to leave the building, he wasn’t sure if that was a good idea.
“We were up on the fourth floor. I thought it was better to stay in the room so I spoke up and said ‘we should stay here’ to my teacher,” Garrett said.
Garrett said he and his class proceeded cautiously, but did leave the room in the next few minutes. He said he didn’t feel comfortable because he and other students didn’t know if there was a shooter just down the hallway.
Daniel Hayes is a student at Madison College. Hayes, a former member of the U.S. military who did security detail, said he thought the situation could have been handled differently. He suggested having a drill so students and staff could be more prepared. He said it seemed as though it was somewhat chaotic afterward.
When police searched the building, he said students were sitting and standing outside, some still confused and scared. He also said he didn’t feel comfortable with the situation that night, even after the all clear. After students left the building and went across the street, he didn’t stay.
“When I had the chance to leave, I took off,” Hayes said.
Keith Cornille is the college’s vice president of learning and student development. He was at Truax when the initial alert was issued. He spent time afterward in Truax’s Public Safety office communicating with Madison Police and administration members on the campus. He said when the message came through to tell students to across the street, Madison Police had deemed there to be no threat.
Cornille said in a situation like that, students and instructors need to do what they feel is best for themselves. He and associate vice president Tim Casper also went to the Downtown campus to assess the situation and spoke with students to make sure were OK emotionally with the incident. He also encouraged instructors and students to leave the school for the night if that made them feel most comfortable with the situation.
Although Garrett felt uncomfortable with the evacuation procedure, he said he commends the college on how the situation was handled overall. He appreciated the messages sent through the phone system and when students were evacuated, they were ushered across the street to the Bethel Lutheran Church. He said everyone stayed calm in the process.
“The evacuation was real orderly. I thought it went well,” Garrett said.
Cornille lauded the actions of Public Safety and Madison Police in the aftermath of the incident. He said that in incidents like this or even something such as a fire alarm going off, even if you think it’s false students should follow direction. In the case of a fire alarm, even if you think it’s a false alarm, students need to evacuate the building. That is also true in a situation such as the one at Downtown on Sept. 18. He said if students are notified by the college through the phone system to leave the building and go across the street, they need to do so.
“We just want to keep you all (students) safe,” Cornille said.
He also said, based on reports he was given, students and instructors did what was necessary with barricading the door, pulling shades on windows down, turned the lights off and remained quiet before police gave the clear.
“I commend them. They seemed to know what to do in all cases that I knew of,” Cornille said.
Madison College Public Safety officers were on alert following the incident, kept the building clear and checked in with remaining students to ensure they were OK with everything.