OCCC’s scariest 53 minutes
Images, footage and student reactions from February 26.
Staff Reports
Early Friday morning, Feb. 26, a chain of events was set in motion that resulted in the campus being locked down and a security guard accidentally firing his gun. The threat of an armed intruder on campus ultimately proved false but much occurred in the intervening 53 minutes.
Here is how the day’s events progressed:
Sometime that morning, the college received word of a potential campus threat by way of an e-mail that originated from the Oklahoma Information Fusion Center, a state entity that is a part of the Justice Department.
Cordell Jordan, OCCC media relations coordinator, said the State Regents originally received the e-mail.
Although he said he couldn’t discuss the exact wording, he did say “a threat was made that there might be a campus shooting on Feb. 26.” No specific states or campuses were named in the threat, Jordan said.
In a phone interview, Brian Rizzi, Oklahoma Information Fusion Center director, said alerts such as the one sent Feb. 26 are sent only to public officials and verified that the alert received that day at OCCC was “not specific to Oklahoma.”
The State Regents office then forwarded the information to OCCC’s Safety and Security office who then sent it to the Community Outreach and Education office.
The State Regents forward such information to OCCC security “if there is a need,” Jordan said.
Jordan said the Community Outreach and Education office received the alert because that area partners with the Aquatics Center where a swim meet was being held that day.
It was in that office that the day’s events began to unfold.
READ MORE“What did you experience Feb. 26?”
“I was confused because you couldn’t tell what the alarm indicated and there were not enough security officers around to tell us what to do. The evacuation process was not good.”
—Christy Johnson
Psychology Major
“I was freaked out at first, with security running around with guns and police driving through the grass. It shows that OCCC security is on the ball. I really feel safe actually.”
—Scott Whitehead
Biotechnology Major
“I wasn’t scared. They handled it well for the resources they had. They could have blocked off the entrances more, but I think now they know how to handle it.”
—Alexis Easterling
Nursing Major
“I think the college dealt with it kind of well. But, I felt like I could’ve been harmed if there was a shooter because our teacher told us to just evacuate.”
—Courtney DeBoise
Photography Major
“I was quarantined in a closet waiting with other people and a lady let us go before we were supposed to be allowed to. We were walking through the Coffee Shop area, and somebody screamed shooter and everybody panicked. I think there should’ve been better communication as to when we were safe to be let go or not.”
— Kyler Prewitt
Music Major
“We left class when the fire alarm went off, then everybody decided to go back ... to the classroom and a girl stands up, shouting ‘there’s a shooter in the Library, my boyfriend just texted me.’ So, everyone panicked, went back outside and everyone’s just hanging out in front of the Library, like it was a show. I thought everyone needed to get away because of the shooter. I thought it was chaos and not handled well at all”
—Jake Chambers
Journalism Major
Sechrist orders review of shooter response
Ethan Hendricks
Staff Writer
staffwriter3@occc.edu
OCCC President Paul Sechrist has ordered a top-to-bottom internal review into the shooter scare that took place Feb. 26 on campus.
“We will go over what we did and didn’t do, and what needs to be changed,” Sechrist said.
Jerry Steward, executive vice president, said he has been put in charge of the review.
READ MORECounselors ‘here to help’ students in need
Ethan Hendricks
Staff Writer
staffwriter3@occc.edu
Mental health counselors on campus want students to know they are available to talk to them, whether it’s regarding the shooter scare on campus Feb. 26 or any other problem.
“We want to make sure students know that we are here for them,” said Pat Stowe, Student Services director. The service is free, she said.
READ MORE
