UNC students jumping from windows during active shooter lockdown: Security expert weighs in
The video of University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill students jumping from a window during last week’s lockdown spurred by a shooting on campus is memorable.
The video, taken by UNC student Noel Harris, shows two male students climb out of a window in the Phillips Hall classroom building, and jump from the second story into the mulch and bushes below. They walk away, seemingly unharmed.
WRAL Investigates has confirmed with Harris that the video was taken after UNC had alerted the campus community that the shooter was in custody, but while the lockdown orders remained in effect.
Would it have made sense for the students to even have jumped sooner?
Tim Shipman, security consultant with The Shipman Group, LLC, says, especially considering the men were young and physically able, jumping out is a good option.
“In some cases, hiding is the worst case scenario,” Shipman explained. “Especially, [hiding] doesn’t work too well if the gunman finds the people that are hidden.”
Shipman said deciding which option to follow in the “run, hide, fight” guidance depends on the circumstances, including proximity to the shooting, and security of your hiding spot.
WRAL News reported that some students in Phillips Hall told us door locks were not working.
“Ok, I heard the shot in front of me,” Shipman said. “I’m going the other way. I hear the screams in front of me. I’m going the other way.”
UNC’s alerts did not mention where the shooting occurred. Shipman, and students, believe they should have.
“It was really vague,” UNC student Aidan Lok said, of the alert. “It didn’t say that a) it was happening at the Caudill Labs, which is kind of like the dead center of campus.”
“When that alarm sounded,” Shipman noted, “and a lot of [the students] went to a building somewhere. Well, how do you know, with the size of the campus at UNC, how do you know you’re not running into the building where the situation is occurring?”
WRAL Investigates found UNC does not require active shooter training for students or professors. Neither does Duke University. At Meredith College, it’s required for students. At Campbell University, it’s required for employees.
Shipman believes training should be mandatory, and should be in-person, not virtual.
UNC students hope they won't need to think about these situations again.
“I think that mainly the fact that it happened at all was just really scary,” Lok said. “But the probability that it’ll happen again, I think, is low.”
