UC Berkeley is facing criticism after its emergency alert system didn’t warn students until 40 minutes after shots were fired on campus on Feb. 9. Although no one was injured, students are concerned about what could happen if a similar delay occurred during a more targeted shooting.
A gunman fired nine shots into the air at around 8:40 p.m. at UC Berkeley’s Lower Sproul Plaza on Feb. 9, but the university’s WarnMe system did not send out an alert until 9:20 p.m., describing the incident as an “aggravated assault”.
At 9:51 p.m. — more than an hour after the gunman was arrested — WarnMe announced that a shelter-in-place order had been lifted, although its single previous message regarding the incident did not mention such an order.
A petition for the resignation of the university’s director of the office of emergency management and immediate reform of the WarnMe system began circulating on change.org later that night. It had about 185 signatures as of Tuesday.
“My personal safety, along with that of thousands of other students, was compromised due to mismanaged communication by the Office of Emergency Management at UC Berkeley,” petition author Ed Chen wrote. “We were left in fear during a school shooting incident, as the agency obfuscated the actual nature of the crime. The delay in warning students and miscommunication has exposed a serious flaw in our campus safety measures.”
“We will take a closer look at our WarnMe protocols including messaging and expanding the list of campus officials with access to the emergency system.”
Janet Gilmore, UC Berkeley Senior Director of Strategic Communications
UC Berkeley Senior Director of Strategic Communications Janet Gilmore released a statement later that evening addressing the delay and promising an investigation.
“We understand and appreciate the concerns raised regarding the WarnMe messages and, as with any serious incident like this one, we will conduct a review to identify areas where we can improve,” Gillman said. “We will take a closer look at our WarnMe protocols including messaging and expanding the list of campus officials with access to the emergency system.”
WarnMe is part of UC Berkeley’s compliance with the federal Clery Act, which requires students be informed of incidents the campus determines to pose a serious or ongoing threat to the campus community. This decision is made on a case-by-case basis, usually by a UC Berkeley Police Department patrol sergeant, according to an additional statement by Gilmore. The patrol sergeant or designee then distributes the WarnMe notification via email using the Everbridge mass notification system.
Gilmore was unable to explain the 40-minute delay in the warning, or its lack of mention of a firearm, but noted that the gunman was arrested within one minute of the incident.
“We are grateful for the prompt police response and that no one was hurt,” Gilmore said. “However, we are also mindful of the ordeal’s emotional toll on students and others who were unaware of the status of the situation.”
The gunman was charged with three felonies: possession of a loaded firearm, willful discharge of a firearm in a grossly negligent manner and carrying a concealed weapon in a vehicle. UC Berkeley’s crime map lists it as a weapons-related incident with a “stored vehicle-subsequent to arrest; infraction.”
The associated case number is 24-00378, according to UC Berkeley’s Clery crime log.
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