UAPD to go over what to do in case of shooter

The University of Arizona Police Department will hold an active shooter information session open to all students and faculty of the School of Theatre, Film & Television at 9 a.m. Friday, Feb. 22.

Ramon Moreno, a crime prevention and public information officer for UAPD, is speaking at the session. He said the active shooter information session is to let students know what UAPD’s response will be and to teach students safety precautions.

“It’s an educational presentation, just to get information out,” Moreno said. “We give information on what to do if you’re in the middle of an active shooter scenario.”

The session, taking place in the Marroney Theater, also will also cover how to communicate with 911 during an incident and inform students about having an emergency action plan.

Moreno said UAPD gives multiple different safety presentations upon request, including presentations on robbery prevention, alcohol/drug education, campus safety and theft prevention.

So far this semester, UAPD has conducted six active shooter presentations with a total of 201 attendees, according to Moreno. In 2018, they conducted approximately 38 active shooter sessions.

“It’s a pretty frequent request that we get and presentation that we put on,” Moreno said.

The School of Theatre, Film & Television has never had an active shooter presentation before but had been discussing it for about a year and decided to request it, according to Ted Kraus, faculty technical director and assistant professor.

“We’ve never done it, so I’m hoping for information, and maybe it’ll help us formulate a plan and just give us all a better sense of awareness of what to look for and what to do … in the tragic case that anything happens,” Kraus said.

Kraus said although they hope they would never need to use this information, it will just give them a “little peace of mind” to know there is a plan.

Moreno said often, that’s the goal of the presentation. “It’s not a topic that is routinely talked about. It’s what we call a high-risk, low-frequency event,” Moreno said. “We just want to get information [out] and get people thinking.”

The active shooter information session is one hour long and includes a Q&A portion where students and faculty can voice their concerns and get more answers, either related to active shooter safety or not.

Whuie the school has never had an active shooter information session, Kraus said it has had many other safety presentations, both formal and informal. Presentations such as first-aid training and how to safely use props in films and on stage are just a few of the many safety lessons taught to students.

“It’s awareness, mostly,” Kraus said. “We talk about safety all the time.”

Moreno said the different safety presentations can be requested through the UAPD website. Schools can request a session, and the UAPD crime prevention officers will come out to the school to give the presentation.

Kraus said once the School of Theater, Film & Television requested the session, it did not take long for the UAPD to set it up.

“They were very quick about it,” Kraus said.

Moreno said on March 7, instead of waiting for schools to reach out and request an active shooter information session, they will be hosting one at the UAPD Station at 1852 E. First St. He said seats are limited, but it is open to anyone affiliated with the UA as well as anyone in the Tucson community.

The presentation will take place from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. People can register for the event, bring their lunch to the police station and listen to the session to get information on what to do in an active shooter scenario.

To RSVP or get more information on the active shooter session, email Officer Dominic Timpani at dtimpani@email.arizona.edu.

To request a UAPD safety presentation or to get more information on the different sessions available, visit the UAPD website.

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