URBANA – The University of Illinois Police Department and the Emergency Management Department are reviewing Monday’s shooting at Michigan State University to see if changes need to be made to their response plans.
Patrick Wade is a spokesperson for UIPD. He said plans are in place for all types of emergencies – but they can always learn from other incidents to make students safer.
“Our Emergency Management Department will kind of look at what happened and see if there were any strong points in that response,” says Wade. “Any weak points? What are we doing that is the same or different that maybe could be changed or could be emphasized?”
Wade says officers are trained to respond to an active shooter on campus.
“Every officer at UIPD regularly completes active threat or active shooter response training,” says Wade. “The most recent we want, the one we did was in August before the school year began, all of our offices”
He said officers have also stepped up patrols along Green Street and the Quad by the student center.
Community members and individuals who aren’t part of the University system can sign up for Illini alerts using their phones.
You can receive Illini-Alert messages by texting “IlliniAlert” to 226787.
Wade says it is their information feed during emergency situations and provides real-time information instructions when needed.
Wade is encouraging community members to report any suspicious activity if they see it. For more information on emergencies, visit here
Police say the man who shot eight students at Michigan State University, killing three, was found with two handguns and a note containing a possible motive for the attack. They described Anthony McRae as a loner whose father said he had no friends. Investigators are trying to determine if mental health played a role in the Monday shootings.
The 43-year-old McRae was on foot when he killed himself miles from campus. One of the five wounded students is in stable condition while the others remain in critical condition with signs of improvement. Classes at Michigan State remain suspended through the weekend.
