April 11, 2024 | NEWS | By Rachel Weissman
After a shooting at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs on February 16, the CSPD and surrounding campus safety offices were left in shock. The aftermath of this shooting has been felt across the Springs as campus securities of neighboring colleges are facing questions and scrutiny.
Former UCCS student Nicholas Jordan faces two counts of first-degree murder as he is the main suspect in the homicide of his roommate, Samuel Knopp and friend Celine Rain Montgomery in the Alpine Village Apartment complex.
Despite the recent release of the arrest affidavit, many questions remain unsolved. How did Jordan obtain his gun? How will Colorado Springs legislation react to this tragedy caused by gun violence? Unfortunately, this violent crime is not out of the norm.
According to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, nearly 80% of homicides in the U.S. involve a firearm, and more than 20,000 people die yearly by firearm homicide in the U.S. In Colorado specifically, firearm-related injuries claimed the lives of 418 individuals in 1980.
Despite an approximate 1.4 million increase in the state’s population since then, that number has increased to 442 by 2000. The Colorado Sun reported that the state’s population increased by almost 1.5 million between 2000 and 2021, and yet the number of firearm-related deaths has more than doubled.
Colorado is notorious for mass shootings from Columbine High School to Club Q, and despite these monumental events security on college campuses is a unique struggle. During an interview with Cathy Buckley, Director of Campus Safety and Emergency Management at Colorado College, she revealed many misconceptions about emergency response and crisis management on campus.
Buckley explained that if a similar incident were to happen at Colorado College, the campus safety instant management team would directly respond to any disaster, man-made or man-caused. They will respond at any time on campus with their standard lockdown protocol, and contact the Colorado Springs Police Department.
Furthermore, Colorado College Campus Safety acts as a liaison between the college and the police department, providing officers with anything necessary to ensure the safety of students and faculty, such as floor plans, building access, etc. Just recently, Buckley oversaw practice emergency drills by campus safety in December and January. Colleges across Colorado are reacting and preparing, watching and questioning if plans are enough.
At Colorado College, campus security has implemented proactive protection for students and faculty. Colorado College campus safety was allowed to debrief with the Emergency Management team at UCCS, along with the chief of police, providing helpful insight for preventative measures.
UCCS uses the same 2-1-1 call system in case of an emergency as Colorado College. 2-1-1 answers the calls of concerned parents, students and staff, as a previously set up call center and Counseling Center at the cyber security building. 2-1-1 can provide information on what buildings are open to students and staff after the event and they can explain the current danger and situation to those concerned. 2-1-1 was a useful resource during the hours following the shooting.
After the tragedy that occurred at UCCS, events on campus were put on hold. In response, Colorado College hosted a concert for UCCS on the Friday following the shooting. Other colleges around Colorado Springs such as the Air Force Academy absorbed events that were supposed to occur at the UCCS campus.
Despite Buckley’s clear explanation of protocol and standard procedure, she did not have much to say on preventative measures at Colorado College. Buckley claimed that the red flags present before the UCCS shooting could not be taken too far into account because the circumstances were not unreasonably uncommon. Buckley says there is a fine line between taking into account the majority of the college and possibly displacing a student; Buckley claims that UCCS remained on the correct side of that line, despite the outcome.