A total of 50 active-shooter incidents with casualties occurred in 2022, according to an article published in Aug. 2023 by the U.S Department of Justice.
Sandy Hook Promise is a nonprofit organization that was established in 2013 after the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting in 2012 and advocates for gun violence prevention programs. According to its website, there were more shootings in 2022 than any year since Columbine.
The Columbine shooting took place in 1999 and was at the time the worst shooting in U.S. history. According to an article published by History, the shooting prompted debates on gun control and school safety.
Frank Belcastro, San Jose State University Police Department captain, said he encourages all students to visit the university website and watch a training video about a “Run, Hide, Fight” protocol.
“This is a video from Homeland Security, it basically explains the three things that you really want to consider. Run, hide, fight,” Belcastro said. “Do I want to flee? Can I get out of this building safely?”
Belcastro said it is extremely important to alert SJSU .
“We may not have great information at the time, you might know something in a building before we do, but we'll put out as much as we can on that alert,” he said. “Then we will try to get as much info, but again, sometimes the people in the area know more than we know.”
Belcastro said as important as alerting campus police of suspicious activity is, it’s strongly advised that any building you enter, scout out the exit routes.
He said knowing the exits within a building can be life saving if there is any kind of emergency.
Belcastro also said in the event of an active shooter, the choice of what to do is up to the student, however if you cannot flee, the next step is to lockdown.
He said it’s important for students to know exactly what it means to “lockdown.”
“ ‘Lockdown’ means we're going to barricade, I'm gonna take that door and put furniture in front of it,” Belcastro said.
Belcastro said in a life and death situation, students have to think smart and fast.
“I'm gonna make it as impenetrable as possible. I'm going to shut off my cell phone. I'm going to go in a corner, hunker down and wait for an ‘all clear.’” said Belcastro.
An article written by the New York Post elaborates on a viral video showing how to barricade a door after the Robb Elementary school shooting in Texas in May 2022.
Interior design senior Jaelynn Ford said she doesn't think any institution prepares its students enough for a potential active-shooter situation.
“There’s a lot of mention about the possibility and how to go about following certain protocols, yet drills for this possible situation aren’t emphasized like earthquake drills,” said Ford.
Belcastro said the university police department has to undergo special training in order to be prepared for an active shooter.
“Most of us have gone through this large-scale event up in Santa Cruz,” he said. “They put on
training over a course of multiple days. They simulate an active shooter, they have tactical medicine, training and all that and our officers are tack mentoring.”
Belcastro said along with the active-shooter simulation, first-aid training also happens every year.
He said first aid and medical training is crucial as blood loss is the number one cause of death from active-shooter situations.
“We've learned that the quicker you get them aid, the more lives we can save so that's the protocol,” Belcastro said.
He said students should know that the campus response time is between three and four minutes.
“The last thing that we always tell students is fighting may have to be okay if your life's at stake,” Belcastro said. “You're gonna have to fight. You're gonna have to hurt someone and it might go against you to hurt but it's the way you're going to stop them.”
Many things can be used as a tool to assist students in an active-shooter situation, according to a commercial from Sandy Hook Promise.
If there were an active shooter on campus, a pen or a pencil can be used as a weapon, according to the same commercial.
“It’s not an easy thing to think about, but you're gonna have to suspend your human feelings at that point in time because you got to hurt the person to stop that person,” said Belcastro.
Belcastro said students and faculty need to follow the run, hide, fight protocol if there was an active shooter on campus or anywhere someone may find themselves.
Senior public health student, Diborah Awoke said she doesn't believe SJSU adequately prepares students for a situation of this magnitude.
“Schools could schedule dorms to active-shooter-protocol drills and info sessions as well as flyers and general drill for students that don't live on campus,” Awoke said.
