19-04-2025
University of Arkansas Police Department ready in event of active shooter situation
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — The University of Arkansas Police Department is reaffirming how it would respond to an active shooter on campus in the wake of Thursday's mass shooting at Florida State University that killed two people and wounded six others.
UAPD assistant chief Matt Mills said it's a collaborative effort between campus police, Fayetteville Police Department, Washington County Sheriff's Office, fire and EMS agencies, to locate the shooter, neutralize the threat and begin administering aid to the wounded. Mills said, for students, keep 'Avoid, Deny and Defend' in mind.
'If you can get out, get out as quickly as you can and take as many people with as possible,' Mills said. 'If you cannot get out, turn off the lights, lock the doors, barricade the doors, deny access, and while you're doing that, we create a plan to defend ourselves if the bad guy comes in.'
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The shooting in Tallahassee affected University of Arkansas students, like freshman Dylan White.
'It was heartbreaking,' White said.
White said he and his roommate discussed the shooting together, concluding that they couldn't imagine an incident like that happening on Arkansas' campus. However, White understands that an incident like that could happen anywhere at any time.
'It makes you look at situations different,' White said. 'When you're just going to class, it's like, 'Dang, I feel like that couldn't happen here,' but I'm sure those guys at FSU felt the same way.'
White was more alert walking around campus and sitting in class Friday — exactly what UAPD wants students, faculty and staff to do. Mills said, for every room they walk into, they should identify a primary and secondary exit.
'That may be through a window,' Mills said. 'If you have to get out, break the window. We'll replace a window, especially in an active-shooter, active-threat environment.'
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That goes hand-in-hand with reporting anything that seems out of the ordinary to police immediately, Mills said.
Mills is also encouraging every student, faculty and staff member with a university email to download the free SafeZone app. Mills said you can hit a button on the app indicating there's an emergency, and your location will be displayed for dispatchers and police to respond.
If you're unable to talk for safety reasons, Mills said you can send the department text messages and photos through the SafeZone app, which can help UAPD locate and subdue the active threat.
'We would have to search every one of those buildings, every room, every floor, if we don't know where the shooter is,' Mills said. 'If we get that information from people that are on the ground or they just said, 'I just heard them outside of this room,' now we can narrow our scope and get to that threat sooner.'
RazALERTs are sent out across campus to students, faculty and staff in the event of emergency or inclement weather situations.
For more information, you can visit UAPD's website.
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