Office of Public Relations
Missouri Baptist University
One College Park Drive
Saint Louis, Missouri 63141-8698
314.392.2307 / fax 314.392.2265
www.mobap.edu / pr@mobap.edu
For Immediate Release
RE: Playing it Safe: MBU undergoes Active Shooter Simulation
Playing it Safe: MBU undergoes Active Shooter Simulation
August 12, 2007
Click here to read the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's coverage of the MBU Active Shooter Simulation.
Clad in a long-sleeved T-shirt and a protective face mask, MBU Resident Assistant John Barnes played the part of a shooting victim Aug. 8 inside Missouri Baptist University’s Pillsbury-Huff Residence Hall.
Rod Schaeffer of Strategos International explains the specifics of an active shooter simulation Aug. 8 to MBU resident assistants who participated in the mock shooting.
“Get him,” he screamed as he lay face down in one of the residence hall’s hallways. “I’ve been shot. He’s crazy.”
Meanwhile, officers of MBU Public Safety and Creve Coeur Police scoured the hall for the ‘gunman,’ a part played by MBU Resident Director Jon Hessel.
The no-nonsense drill, called an Active Shooter Simulation, marked the conclusion to a three-day safety seminar hosted at MBU this past August to negate the chances of such a scenario from ever coming true. Instructors from Strategos International, a Kansas City-based organization that provides armed professionals with such training, led the law enforcement professionals in varied simulations, coupled with comprehensive classroom training, throughout the three-day seminar.
“We want to take every proactive measure possible to ensure our students’ safety,” said Steve Heidke, MBU director of public safety. “Our goal is to create an environment that is conducive to learning for all of our students.”
The event is an example of how MBU’s Public Safety officers and municipal law enforcement can continue to work together to ensure student safety, Heidke added. MBU is located within Creve Coeur’s jurisdiction.
For MBU resident assistants, who were beginning their two-week Resident Assistant Training, participation in the Active Shooter Simulation was voluntary. Still, all of the RA’s opted to participate. And they’re glad they did.
“I feel more prepared to react to such a situation because of this simulation,” Barnes said. “Being involved in this event has opened my eyes to the realities of what can happen and, more importantly, it has given me the tools to effectively respond to such a situation.”
MBU’s West Saint Louis County campus has consistently been one of the safest universities in Missouri. For a complete look at MBU’s crime statistics, view the 2006 Department of Public Safety Report at www.mobap.edu/student/services/safety/report06.asp
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Missouri Baptist University is a premier Christian university in Saint Louis, offering graduate and undergraduate studies in over thirty specialized fields and nine degrees. MBU's education and fine arts programs are nationally known in addition to business, religion, administration of justice, and more. MBU is one of the fastest growing higher education institutions in Missouri with an enrollment of over 4,500 students at five locations in the bi-state region — West County, Lincoln County, Jefferson County, Franklin County and the new Illinois extension at Lewis and Clark Community College.
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