Contact: Allison Matthews

STARKVILLE, Miss.—Mississippi State University is taking advance precautions against potential emergency scenarios with several upcoming training sessions planned, including preparation for an active shooter scenario.

“We feel preparedness is crucial, and we want to equip our students, faculty and staff to maximize their safety—even in the event of the worst-case scenarios, which we hope MSU will never face,” said Vice President for Student Affairs Regina Hyatt.

MSU Emergency Manager Brent Crocker said the following upcoming training sessions, as well as other preparedness resources, are being implemented in coming weeks as the university continues to make preparedness a top priority.

July 26 and 28, Live Simulation Training—MSU is hosting two simulations with MSU Police responding to a hypothetical active shooter situation. The location will be determined closer to the date. 

August 4, Active Shooter Tabletop—A subset of the MSU Crisis Action Team will work through a hypothetical scenario of an active shooter on campus. The university has invited local law enforcement and emergency response personnel to participate. This group includes the Starkville Police Department, Oktibbeha County Sheriff’s Office, Mississippi State Highway Patrol, Starkville-Oktibbeha School District and Oktibbeha County Emergency Management Agency.

The scenario is provided by the Department of Homeland Security School Safety Task Force. MSU Crisis Action Team members participating will include Hyatt, who routinely serves as the team’s Incident Commander, along with Crocker and Interim Associate Vice President for Student Success and Dean of Students Thomas Bourgeois, Associate Vice President for Administration Les Potts, MSU Chief of Police Vance Rice, Chief Communications Officer Sid Salter and Director of Veterans and Military Affairs Brian Locke.

August 23, Active Shooter Training—An Active Shooter Training session for university employees will take place at 3 p.m. in Fowlkes Auditorium. It is listed on the Human Resources Learning Library at: https://learning.hrm.msstate.edu. Departments wishing to host a training session should contact Brent Crocker at jcrocker@saffairs.msstate.edu.

The Mississippi State Personnel Board’s “Active Shooter Situations” training program is still required for new employees and is available for current employees to review: http://www.mspb.ms.gov/Presentations/Active-Shooter-Training/presentation.html.

Campus Emergencies Video—All students and employees are urged to watch a video online at https://vimeo.com/179047521 and make an emergency plan.

Everbridge Mobile App—MSU’s emergency app now contains links to emergency procedures, including active shooter situations. Download the Everbridge App from any app store and follow the instructions found at https://www.emergency.msstate.edu/app. Tap the shield icon to access emergency response information.

For more information on emergency guidelines, preparedness and training, or MSU’s Maroon Alert system, visit https://www.emergency.msstate.edu/.

MSU is Mississippi’s leading university, available online at www.msstate.edu.