We’ve already discussed the topic of encouraging students to report. But when real-life examples show how a student’s report avoided a potentially serious situation, we feel that it’s worth sharing.
One Student's Quick Thinking
The article, “Seattle Student Credited with Preventing Shooting”, posted by the Seattle Times covers an incident of a student reporting a man’s suspicious behaviour, which consequentially avoided a school shooting.
A student was approached by a man outside of Rainier Beach High School who asked the student if the school used metal detectors. The student immediately reported the man's suspicious questions to a school officer, who contacted Seattle police. The police found the suspect at a nearby location with a loaded 9mm handgun and was taken into custody. The man was threatening to shoot his ex-girlfriend, an employee at the high school, as well as her friends and family. A scary question to ask is what would have happened if the student had not reported the incident?
“We believe that the quick thinking from the student and a very prompt and timely police response potentially prevented something much worse,” said police spokesman Sgt. Sean Whitcomb.
Faster Reporting Means a Safer Campus
The swift action of the student is commendable. He took the initiative to seek out school officers to report the man, who local police were then able to locate and arrest. Now imagine how much faster the student could have reported the incident using the reporting features from a mobile safety app. This example shows how just one student's report can help keep your campus safe and potentially save many lives.
This demonstrates the power of reporting and why it's important to make students aware of your app’s reporting capabilities.
Have you had any incidents on campus where reporting was used? What has the volume of student reporting been like so far? Comment below and let us know what you think!
