Cal State Fullerton Active Shooter Training, Power In Knowledge

FULLERTON, CA — California State University Fullerton Student Recreation Center athletic courts transformed into an active shooter training session, Friday.

In 1976, mass shooter Edward Charles Allaway entered the Cal State Fullerton library and shot nine people. Seven of them died. Friends and family, students and faculty, were forever marked by the event. California State Fullerton Police continue to teach students and faculty about personal protection, how to identify and report potential problems, and now how to defend themselves in an active shooter situation.

About 50 rec center employees gathered under the supervision of university law enforcement officers to learn how to both identify problems before they occur, and how to work together to stop an aggressor.

"We offer training and specialized presentations for groups, clubs or departments," a spokesperson from CSU Fullerton shared. On Friday, they held a class teaching employees of the center how to conduct themselves when and if they are ever confronted with an active shooter.

First, employees gathered in a classroom setting where the CSUF police department's emergency management coordinator conducted a thorough presentation. During the presentation, each worker was taught signs and signals that would alert someone was potentially harmful to others on campus.

The challenge for educators is to help workers identify people with potential violent tendencies, moving them from an "it's not my problem" phase to an "if you see something, say something" plan of action.

According to the presentation, shooters often give prior hints of their plans. They talk about their anxieties. They accumulate items they deem necessary to act out their scenarios. They write out what they want to do in letters or on social media. They show antisocial or changed behavior, often in a negative way.

Once the group learned the theory of the program, they engaged in a more "hands-on" approach of what they learned.

Cal State Fullerton officers divided the class into groups, some holding colorful balls, others lunging at an officer dressed head to toe in protective gear.

We offer training and specialized presentations for your group, club or department.

Today, our Emergency Management Coordinator is conducting Active Shooter Training for the SRC employees. @csuf pic.twitter.com/TnEkRZgPEJ
— CSU Fullerton PD (@csufpd) January 17, 2020

When the whistle blew and the staff members tackled and pummeled the "active shooter" in the scenario, the joy of the group was uplifting.

Still, cheers and laughter of the center's employees working together did not overshadow the seriousness of what they learned should theory ever be put into practice.

For more information about the class, visit CSUFPD on Facebook.

READ: 40 Years after Cal State Fullerton Shooting Spree Families Still Grieve