I was woken up by a call at 2 a.m on January 20, 2018. This call was from an automated system which was notifying me of an active shooter situation on our Campus. Not long after that, I received a text message and subsequently a call from a despondent friend notifying me of the same thing.

These messages, which came in the middle of the night were only the precursor to over two hours of communication between myself and other individuals on campus. The topic of conversation, safety during an active shooting, is the topic of this article.

Ultimately, the number of school and mass shootings, as many of you know, has increased significantly over the past few years. With such events already happening on campus, and the probability of it happening again increasing every year, it is important to understand behaviors which could potentially save your life and maybe even the lives of your fellow citizens.

As I was talking to a campus police officer the night before the shooting, I mentioned that one of the most important things an individual can do while in public, is paying attention to their surroundings. This statement is, and always will be, true. By simply being aware of our surroundings, we can notice when tensions are running high in an area and make an effort to remove ourselves from the situation.

Being aware of your surroundings also enables you to notice individuals displaying unusual behavior. While I am not an expert in reading body language, it is important to notice when an individual is not acting ina way that matches your current setting. Although this is not a high school, this website has a lot of good information about the signs of potential gun violence. All the same, the information here is not foolproof and I encourage you to look into the matter yourself.

There is one thing that is incredibly important—not calling friends or family members that you think may be in the vicinity of the shooter. Although this may seem counterintuitive, it is really important that we refrain from calling anyone in the area during an active shooter situation.

Doing so could potentially cost someone their lives if they are hiding from a shooter and their phone goes off. Subsequently, if you are in the vicinity of a shooter, it is important that you silence your phone. In the same way that calling someone could cost them their lives, receiving a call could cost you yours.

I recognize that the first instinct many of us have is to check in with our loved ones—I myself am guilty of wanting to give in to just such an impulse in such instances, but we have to prioritize both our own safety and that of our friends. It terrible that I have been in just such a situation three times in my life already, but it proves that there is a significant need to understand how to react in said situations.

Another thing to keep I mind is how to contact the police in the event of a campus or other public shooting. Ultimately, designate one person in your group of people to be the caller. In times of crisis such as that, 911 operators are often flooded with calls about the situation. Adding six more calls to the situation when one individual would suffice only manages to delay assistance and tie up phone lines for other people in trouble.

There are many more guidelines that one could and should go by when faced with an active shooter situation, but it is important to remember that every situation is different. Be sure to use the strategies which ensure your safety in that moment.

For a more complete list of things to do during an active shooter situation, visit Wake’s wakeready website or take advantage of other resources such as ready.gov.