During the evening of Feb. 13, 2023, a gunman shot and killed three students and injured others at Michigan State University, according to a report from the MSU police. Due to the increase of active shooter incidents across the country, the Wayne State College Campus Security Department and Wayne Police Department held an active shooter presentation for faculty and staff. 

The two-hour presentation on Feb. 24, walked through the responses from both departments, fostering situational awareness, the Emergency Operations Center and the run, hide, fight response.  

“What do we do to make our school safer?” Campus Security Manager Jason Mrsny said. “Everyone of us has a role in doing that. Campus safety and the police department will do what we can, but we cannot be in every place at once. So, we really rely on you as faculty and staff members to help provide a safe environment. If you see something, say something.” 

To promote campus safety, Mrsny outlined ten parts. First, students and staff must work toward an atmosphere of respect and trust. Next, the relationship between students and security agencies must improve and students should feel comfortable bringing any serious issues to campus security. Thirdly, everyone needs to focus on communicating, employing both a willingness to speak up and to listen to the concerns of others.  

Mrsny stressed the significance of reporting any incidents that seem out of the ordinary. The fourth point is to identify concerning behaviors using “The Power of Hello.” Looking people in the eye and saying hello lets the other person know you are aware of their presence. This awareness goes a long way in identifying potential danger, Mrsny said.  

This phrase comes from the United States’ Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s website at cisa.gov. Mrsny also discussed CISA’s OHNO approach- Observe, initiate a Hello, Navigate the risk, and Obtain help. Remembering these steps will aid in detecting and stopping a threat early, Mrsny said.  

Next, Campus Security will maintain a threat assessment group comprised of different organizations including the Behavioral Identifying Team which investigates using the Pathway to Violence Model.  

Sixth is reinforcing clear messaging. Seventh, the organization will work to provide resources to manage concerning students. The eighth point is to increase information between the school and stakeholders within the community. This includes the WPD, Fire and Rescue Department, Wayne Public Schools and more.  

Next, the WPD will have emergency card access to all dorms and academic buildings in the event of an active shooter situation. As a response, all buildings on campus will lockdown immediately from the outside, so the police will have special cards to gain access. 

Finally, Mrsny said the campus needs to update its staff on threat assessments and training, as they did in this meeting, more often. 

During the event of an active shooter situation, a RAVE Alert will go out to all WSC students and staff. Campus Security and the WPD encourage all involved to follow the Run, Hide, Fight model. The first priority should be to leave the area as quickly and safely as possible. If a chance to run arises, always take it, Mrsny said. Do not take anything with you. 

If running is not an option, find a place to hide. Finally, if necessary, but only if necessary, fight. Gather a group of people and make a plan to attack different parts of the shooter, making sure you obtain control of the firearm.  

Whenever it is safe to do so, make a call to 911. That call should include key information such as location, number of shooters, number and types of weapons and physical description of the shooter.  

When police enter the area or if you are leaving, always remember to keep hands up and empty, remain calm and follow directions.  

 “I am glad to say, we have the best things in place that we can here in Wayne,” Mrsny said. “Again, we all have a role to play and we all must have a calm head and be vigilant.”