Penn’s Division of Public Safety and its staff quickly and adeptly responsed to the shooting that occured early Tuesday morning.
Within 30 minutes of the incident, DPS investigated, confirmed the seriousness of the threat and issued a UPennAlert. A second notification was sent about a half hour later, stating that the area was all clear.
We believe that the decision to notify the community via text messages, e-mails and phone calls — and urging everyone to stay away from the scene — was the right one.
The UPennAlert system is fairly new, and DPS is still grappling with when to use it. The power of the system as a vital communication function during emergencies comes from the rarity of its use. It should therefore only be employed in the most serious of situations.
Tuesday’s shooting truly deserved such an alert. There was an imminent threat to the public, and it was necessary to warn students in the vicinity of the danger they may have been in, as well as the actions they could have taken to protect themselves from harm.
Thanks to the UPennAlert notifications, the community knew exactly what was happening and what to do to keep safe.
How do you think DPS handled the situation? Send us a letter to the editor: letters@theDP.com.
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