By Jackie Todd, Office of Media Relations
You can’t be prepared enough in a crisis. To demonstrate the University’s response to a potential campus threat, Clemson will hold an active shooter full-scale training exercise from 8 a.m. until 11 a.m. Wednesday, July 13, at Edwards Hall on Clemson’s main campus. The exercise was originally scheduled to take place in April, but was postponed.
This simulation is the result of a partnership that includes the Clemson University Police Department; Clemson University Fire Department; Crisis Management Team; Executive Leadership Team; Public Affairs; local law enforcement agencies; and Margolis Healy, a nationally recognized professional services firm that specializes in campus safety, security and regulatory compliance for institutions of higher education, that will conduct and assess the exercise.
“We hope that shootings and other tragedies never happen at Clemson, but the only way you know is to train and prepare so you can respond to any incident,” said CUPD Chief Eric Hendricks.
“Recent events have shown that a coordinated response from multiple agencies is necessary when an active shooter event occurs,” according to Hendricks. “This full-scale exercise will further test the university’s commitment and preparedness for an unlikely but high-impact situation.”
Campus and street impact
Beginning at 7 a.m., police will close the area surrounding Edwards Hall, the front parking lot and a portion of Epsilon Zeta Drive.
“You should not be alarmed if you see a heavy police presence in this area on July 13,” said Hendricks.
The Redfern Health Center will close from 9-11 a.m. The Joseph F. Sullivan Center will also close for the exercise. Sullivan Center medical director Paula Watt said that the center will operate at an offsite location at the Clemson Free Clinic during the exercise and will reopen on campus at noon.
Communication
The campus will be notified at the start of the exercise by a CU Safe Alert text message and campus sirens periodically during the morning. Those not directly involved in the exercise will not have to take any action.
“We appreciate the cooperation of the public and all of our campus partners to ensure that we can conduct this critical training,” Hendricks said. “We hope we never need to put this training into use, but we also know that active shooter situations are sadly becoming more common across our country. We need to be prepared.”
