Would W&L’s response have protected students had the threat been real?
A 19-minute window followed by a lax 3-hour search indicates necessary change

[Editor’s note: Today, Nov. 7, the Lexington Police Department responded to a series of questions that The Spectator emailed to the police chief on Nov. 2, the day after W&L received a threat to campus.

In the response, Lt. Cherie Padgett, the department’s public information officer, said law enforcement arrived on campus at 3:48 p.m., which was three minutes after the university sent out its first shelter-in-place alert.

But witnesses said that a large contingent of police began descending on the Kappa Sigma fraternity house in Davidson Park at 4:15 p.m. Police had received a report about shots fired.

Padgett’s statement to The Spectator was unclear about how many officers arrived on W&L’s main campus at 3:48 p.m. and whether some or all of them then left to respond to the perceived threat at Davidson Park.

Nor did she clarify whether the department considers the Kappa Sigma fraternity house at 220 E Nelson St., as an official part of campus because the university owns nearly all frat houses in the city of Lexington.

The Spectator has reached out to Padgett to seek clarification about the police timeline. We are waiting to make any corrections or clarifications, if necessary, to the following article until we hear from the police.]

70% of mass shootings end within 5 minutes. Yet 19 minutes passed before law enforcement arrived at Washington and Lee University on Wednesday, November 1 in response to a violent threat. Had the threat been carried out during that lengthy interval, how much harm could an attacker have inflicted?

While law enforcement may have arrived slightly earlier, the 19-minute window is the gap between the W&L’s initial 3:45 PM shelter-in-place order and a later message which declared that “Law enforcement is on the scene.”

Neither university officials nor the Lexington Police Chief have responded to The Spectator’s inquiry into the specific response time of local law enforcement in this incident.

Police presence was initially concentrated at Davidson Park due to the false report of gunfire. This left the main campus unprotected and many students vulnerable. Students were locked in their respective classrooms, some in areas surrounded by windows or in common spaces.  Their swipe access was cut off, trapping some in less-than-ideal locations, and the information given on the situation was scanty at best.

Once police began to sweep campus, observers saw officers standing around and moving rather slowly through academic buildings; at least slowly enough that the search wasn’t finished until 7:23pm, over 3-hours after they had arrived on scene.

These events highlight how unprepared W&L was to handle the situation. If the reported threat had been real, students clearly would not have been adequately protected. So what changes can be made? The first is to radically change the Department of Public Safety.

Many of us are guilty of saying before that “Pub safe aren’t real cops.” Then why do we expect them to act like it?

While some of the public safety officers have prior police experience, none carry weapons nor have the authority of police officers. The Spectator asked Public Safety Director Craig VanClief multiple questions about the department’s active-shooter protocol in general but have not received any response.

Compare this to the police at the Virginia Military Institute (VMI). Rather than a department of public safety, the VMI Police Department is staffed with 14 certified police officers and several other security officers to assist with campus issues. Officers carry approved firearms and maintain a required firearms proficiency standard, the same as all other police departments.

It is important not to gloss over the fact that with extensive training comes confidence. Training builds the confidence to handle situations calmly, authoritatively, and with a high regard for safety: something that, unfortunately, our public safety department likely lacks.

I am not advocating for a Washington and Lee Police Department, but rather, a Department of Public Safety with similar structure to our neighbors. We need at least some certified police officers who are licensed to carry firearms on campus and protect the student body from physical threats of violence. They would work in conjunction with our standard Public Safety officers.

When our safety is threatened, the trained, armed officers could immediately respond - eliminating a lengthy window of vulnerability. Armed officers would monitor for threats in academic buildings and deal with them accordingly until Lexington, Rockbridge, and State policemen arrive.

Of course, these officers, like any certified police officer, would be required to maintain set standards and meet qualifications to retain their license.

In addition to a more prepared Public Safety, Washington and Lee should honor the firearm licensing of its student body. Currently, gun rights on campuses are a state issue. Some states force campuses to allow eligible students to carry firearms, while other states leave the decision up to the college or ban it outright.

Virginia leaves the decision up to the institution, and as such W&L prohibits the storage or carrying of firearms on campus. Many students on our campus, including myself, are licensed to conceal carry. To obtain this license, I had to complete a firearm proficiency test along with 16-hours of education; my fingerprints were taken and placed on file with the state government, and there was an extensive background check in which the state police interviewed my known relationships.

The result was a Concealed Carry Weapon (CCW) permit enabling me to carry a firearm with the approval of the state and federal government. If the United States government trusts me to be a responsible, legal citizen capable of carrying a firearm for defense, I believe W&L ought to as well.

If carrying on campus seems far-fetched, allow me to offer an example. Liberty University, about an hour’s drive from Lexington, allows students with legal permits to carry on campus. Liberty Students must receive a Liberty Concealed Weapons Permit in addition to their state approved CCW.

The W&L community needs to discuss reform — as they have in the past — to our current safety protocols. Many students did not feel safe, even with the police presence on campus, and this was rightfully so.

Indeed, nobody was safe in the minutes immediately following the first afternoon alert. Had the situation been different, there may have been much mourning and institutional change on our campus. I hope we take time now for the latter, so that we never have to experience the former.

[The opinions expressed in this magazine are the author's own and do not reflect the official policy or position of The Spectator, or any students or other contributors associated with the magazine. It is the intention of The Spectator to promote student thought and civil discourse, and it is our hope to maintain that civility in all discussions.]