On Nov. 25 an armed man was seen on Middle St. In Montevallo, AL. Students received an email advising them to “shelter in place” and stay away from that area.
Two weeks prior to this incident the University of Montevallo had a lockdown drill. The University of Montevallo Police Department handle the drill as if it was an actual threat and sent test alerts to students.
Students were confused on how to handle this situation because instead of the term lockdown the alert used shelter in place.
“I called the university’s police department and they said it was a lockdown even though it wasn’t clearly stated that it was a lockdown” said Lexi Womack Social Work Major at the University of Montevallo.
Chief Alexander said students were not in a direct threat and emails were only sent out because the gunned man was seen in close radius of UM owned property and he was never near the campus.
After multiple calls and emails police chief Timothy Alexander patterned with the President’s office sent emails explain what all potential alerts mean.
Here are definitions for potential alerts:
- Lock down: The most restrictive of the alerts, lock down will be used in situations of violence; be it active shooter, riots, or other active violent threats. UM community members should go into the closest room, lock the door, turn out lights, and silence cell phones. If the threat is in your immediate area, follow the tenants of Run, Hide, Fight. Remain in the locked down area until further direction is given.
- Shelter in Place: Shelter in place will be used for instances of natural disaster, hazardous materials spill, gas leak, or other threats to the health and safety of the UM community that are not an active violent situation. UM community members are not always expected to lock down but are expected to stay inside to avoid a hazardous or threatening situation. UM community members should enter the closest building, close doors and windows, and await further instruction from UMPD or the Physical Plant. Lock doors if a threat is in your immediate area.
- Avoid the Area: While Montevallo is a safe, small community, situations sometimes arise in the area around campus that may not necessitate a lock down or shelter in place alert but do require action from the UM community. As the name implies, the UM community is only expected to be aware of a situation and to avoid the area.
Other types of alerts are not as urgent as an emergency alert but do still warrant your attention. Those alerts include a timely alert (be cautious), an information alert (be aware), and an adverse weather alert (be cautious). See the attached handout for more information.
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