As everyone must know by now, a shooting incident took place on Florida Atlantic University’s Boca Raton campus shortly after 1 a.m. yesterday. The FAU Police Department was notified at 1:16 a.m., and officers arrived on the scene at the student apartments within minutes. After being told that a young man attending a party in one of the apartments had fired a gun and then fled, they activated the newly installed campus siren and PA system to advise everyone within earshot of the danger and alert them to take cover.
Additionally, messages were posted on the FAU homepage and throughout the website, and a University-wide e-mail was sent out asking those on campus to seek shelter and those off campus to remain off campus. The new reverse 911 system was utilized to send an emergency message via telephone to the University community and notices were posted in the residence halls. We think that these systems worked well, in that awareness of the situation seemed to spread across campus very quickly. I would like to thank those who provided us with feedback on the alert system and how it might be improved. As is customary in the aftermath of a major incident, we intend to conduct a thorough debriefing to examine all aspects of our response and see if there are ways to improve our overall preparedness and the mechanics of the notification systems.
I’d like to take this opportunity to thank all of FAU’s police officers, the Boca Raton Police Department, housing personnel and other employees who swung into action in the middle of the night and stayed on duty throughout Wednesday to make sure that the safety of everyone on the Boca Raton campus was assured. Thanks also to the Chartwell’s employees who made sure that breakfast and lunch were delivered to the students who were locked down in the residence halls. And thanks to all of our students, both on and off campus, for bearing with this difficult situation until it was resolved at about noon when police located the suspected shooter at an off-campus location and lifted the lockdown.
The fact that this incident occurred during finals week has made it especially hard on students. Final exams that were to have taken place on Wednesday, April 30, on the Boca Raton campus have been rescheduled for Saturday, May 3, at the same times and locations as originally planned. Students, faculty and staff who must change airplane reservations because of this situation can contact the Dean of Students office on the Boca Raton campus to get an official statement on FAU letterhead explaining what happened and asking for the cooperation of the airlines in issuing new departure tickets.
FAU’s three commencement ceremonies will be held as scheduled on Friday, May 3, and all students who were planning to march in them may do so. As is normal practice, degrees will not be certified until final grades are received and all degree requirements are met.
Students who feel the need for counseling are reminded that free professional services are available through the Counseling Centers on the Boca Raton, Davie and Jupiter campuses. Information is available online at http://www.fau.edu/student/counsel.
FAU employees who were scheduled to work on the Boca Raton campus on Wednesday, and who were not on annual or sick leave, will receive their regular wages for the day. The services of the Counseling Institute are available to employees at no cost. Counselors can be reached 24 hours a day at 800-492-0253 or 561-995-9500.
While we have all gone through a harrowing experience over the last 24 hours, we feel very fortunate that the incident ended with just one person suffering a minor injury and the suspect in police custody. We will continue to work together to develop the University’s ability to respond quickly and effectively to emergencies of all kinds. Thank you again for your cooperation as events unfolded.
