False claim exposes emergency system flaws
A bizarre series of events involving a stolen car and a false report about a lone gunman roaming afoot near CSC, triggered a campus-wide lockdown for nearly six hours late Saturday night and into Sunday morning, and exposed flaws in CSC’s emergency notification system.
The events began when Chadron police discovered a stolen vehicle with a 16-year-old male nearby on Hidden Valley Road at 7:48 p.m., Saturday, Chadron Police Chief Tim Lordino said.
Police arrested the youth, and he told them that a passenger in the car, a 19-year old Native American male, had left the scene on foot with a 9mm handgun and an SKS rifle, and was heading toward CSC campus, Lordino said.
Chadron Police Lt. Rick Hickstein called Lordino, who was out of town at the time, and told him about the alleged gunman at 8:59 p.m., Lordino said.
Then at 9:04 p.m., Lordino contacted Jon Hansen, enrollment management, marketing, and student services vice president, about the alleged gunman, Lordino said.
Meanwhile, police mounted a twelve man search team of law enforcement officers from Chadron Police Department, Dawes County Sheriff’s Department; Nebraska State Patrol, including a K-9 unit; and Nebraska Game and Parks, Hickstein said.
Lordino said he contacted Hansen a second time at 9:19 p.m. and again at 9:38 p.m.
Hansen said he received his first call about 9:25 p.m. and made a decision to lock down by 9:30 p.m.
At 10:03 p.m., reporters from The Eagle, after learning about the lockdown at about 9:50 p.m., were first to post online, information about the lockdown.
It was not until 10:13 p.m. that school officials notified students, via email, about the lockdown. Students received the first text notification at 10:52 p.m.
However, Alex Helmbrecht, college relations director, said officials sent an initial text at 10:13 p.m. with the email, but students did not receive the message because the AlertSense program that is used to send emergency text messages to students, was undergoing a change. Last week, Information Technology Services was changing the distribution list from a manual selection to an automatic selection. That change was not completed by the time Helmbrecht and his staff tried to send out the first text Saturday night.
“The email is the first line of communication between students and the college,” Helmbrecht said. “The email was the most important way to communicate with students. I’m happy that it went out at the time it did.”
Helmbrecht said, he and Tena Cook, college relations marketing coordinatior, realized the first message was not sent until about 10:33 p.m. They then went back and looked at the program, found the mistake, and sent another text message.
Still, nearly 45 minutes passed between the time Hansen decided to lock down campus and the time students were notified by CSC officials. Hansen said the reason for the 45 minute delay was because they were “looking into the situation and gathering information.”
Meanwhile, there was a CSC basketball game at the Chicoine Events Center, but no one working at or attending the game was aware of the lockdown until after the game ended at about 9:30 p.m.
Hansen said he was not able to reach personnel working at the game to communicate with them about the lockdown. Helmbrecht said he was not aware of the lockdown until after the game. He received a call at about 9:34 p.m., minutes after he was finished uploading game statistics.
Athletic Director Joel Smith Jr. also said he was not aware of the lockdown until after the game. He said he locked down the Events Center after the crowd and visiting teams departed, leaving only the CSC men’s basketball team and CSC staff inside.
Hansen said it would not have been his decision to lock down Chicoine, alluding that, that decision belonged to police. Lordino said it likely would have been a joint decision between CPD and the administration. Lordino agreed with the decision to refrain from locking down the Events Center to minimize panic. As people were leaving the center, Hickstein posted guards at the Center’s front door, the maintenance building, and the NPAC.
Pat Beu, student affairs senior director, said the protocol in situations like this is to “lockdown campus, gather as much information as we can, and then inform the students.
“Part of the school’s dilemma is separating all the voices (on social media) from fact,” Beu said. “If you don’t have good data, that will open the school up for criticism.” He added that the system needs tweaking and the school is developing the system as it goes.
He also said there is an after action review Friday where CSC officials are expected to discuss what they want to “review and fix” about the process. That meeting will include Chadron police, Hickstein said.
Hansen said he made the decision to lock down campus from information provided by Chadron police. Lordino confirmed that statement.
Hansen said the first step in the lockdown process requires him to contact Residence Life Director Billie Knifong to initiate a dormitory lockdown. But students returning to the dormitory complex from the basketball game were, at first, not permitted into the dormitories and were told to leave the campus. About 10 minutes later, they were let in.
In an interview Tuesday morning, Knifong said she was not permitted to say much, but confirmed that each building has crash bars that prevent people from keying in or out of the doors.
The second step requires Hansen to contact the communications chair, Helmbrecht. Helmbrecht’s department was in charge of posting statuses on Facebook, Twitter, and writing press releases, Hansen said.
Don Keiper, campus security supervisor, said he received a call about 9:30 p.m. about the lockdown. Saturday night, Keiper’s first step was to notify the dormitory personnel and ensure the residence halls were locked down, he said. He and his crew of four then focused on locking down the campus’ remaining buildings. As part of their protocol, security officers make sure there is no one inside, and if there is, officers ensure each person is aware of the situation, Keiper said.
After all the buildings are locked down, they then post a guard at each dormitory to help with students who are entering. The resident directors take care of that process before security guards arrive.
“The RDs and RAs start the process, and we are just there to reinforce it,” Keiper said.
Hansen said that after the campus went on lockdown students were not allowed to leave. He said officials were not using force to keep students in place, but were trying to convince students that it would be in their best interest to stay.
Nebraska State College System policy 3100 states that students can face “disciplinary sanctions” for “obstructing or failing to comply with the directions of a law enforcement officer, firefighter, or College official in the performance of his or her duty on College property…”
Meanwhile, as the campus was locking down, the police search for the alleged 19-year-old gunman continued.
The search ended about 2 a.m., Sunday when, after further questioning, the juvenile admitted he lied to police about the existence of the gunman.
According to a CPD press release, the juvenile was arrested for terroristic threats, a class IV felony; theft by unlawful taking, a class III felony; unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, a class III misdemeanor; false reporting, a class I misdemeanor; DUI and refusal of a chemical test.
Hickstein said the 16-year-old blew a .2 BAC level when they picked him up. By the time he was questioned at the station, his level was .15, Hickstein said.
At about 2:30 a.m., after speaking with Lordino, CSC President Randy Rhine ended the lockdown, Hansen said. CPD kept an officer patrolling the campus until 6 a.m. Sunday.
“Our students responded well,” Hansen said. “They were calm and followed directions. They were patient with us when there was little communication.”
He commended the students and staff for their responses. He also said he appreciated the efforts of the CPD, county sheriff’s office, and the state patrol. He said they communicated information as quickly as they could and he was happy for the positive resolution.